Reunited: A WareHouse 13 AU fanfic
by T-rahz
Summary: High School Fic: Myka and Helena are reunited after five years of separation during which Myka believed Helena to be dead.
1. Chapter 1

_A/n ok so this is my first ever warehouse 13ish fic. It's my first fic in a looooong time. Hope it's well received! Usual disclaimer: characters are not mine, the show ain't mine, but i totally love em!_

"Pete? Peeeeete! Where are you taking me? And why do I have to wear this stupid blindfold?"  
"Come on Mykes. Just go with it ok? I promise. You'll love it."  
"I dunno Pete. We cut school and now you have me god alone knows where, blindfolded and confused."  
"Lighten up Mykes. We're almost there."

Myka, realizing it was pointless trying to get any information out of Pete right now, resigned herself to sitting quietly in the passenger seat of the truck. In her state of temporary blindness she tried to focus on her sense of hearing, hoping some sound would clue her in on their location.

Ten minutes later the engine cut off and Myka heard Pete exit the truck and jog lightly to her side before opening the door and leading her out.  
She still had no idea where they were but felt the light sponginess of possibly turf grass under her shoes. Pete left her side temporarily and she could hear him whispering with someone in the distance. She couldn't tell what they were saying or make out the other person's voice but she could tell the person was female.

A minute later she heard Pete jump into the truck, the engine rearing to life and the truck speeding off, leaving here standing there, with this stranger, god alone knows where. She reached for the blindfold, trying to hastily take it off but immediately felt a pair of soft hands still hers in place. This person, this female person was intent on keeping her blindfolded. But she would have none of it. How dare Pete drag her out here and abandon her with a complete stranger?

"Look, I don't know who you are and what business you have with me but I demand that you let me go this instant."  
All she heard was a faint chuckle coming from the mystery woman; mystery hands still holding hers in place. She could feel the woman close to her; feel her eyes studying her. It was then she caught a whiff of the woman's scent; a delicious mix of vanilla and cocoa butter; a scent she hadn't experienced in almost five years. Could it be? No. It was impossible. She had seen her die that night. Heard about her body being shipped back to England for the funeral. Cried all those nights wishing it was she who had taken that bullet instead of her. Myka couldn't wait any longer. She pulled free of the woman's grasp and ripped the blindfold away; her eyes meeting dark ones that had haunted her every moment of the last five years.  
All Myka could do was stare, forehead creased in disbelief and concern. When she finally found her voice, all she could manage was a meager,

"How?"

A/n please comment so I'll know if to keep going :)  
Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

Both girls were overcome with emotion, both pairs of eyes welling up with tears, never for a second leaving the other.

Myka, now 17, had last seen her best friend 5 years ago, when she was 12. She had painfully witnessed Helena being shot by a bullet in a driveby shooting as they exited school that evening. She had screamed her name and ran to her friend's side only to hold her in her arms as she slipped away. Everything had seemed to move in muted slow motion after that. Police arriving. The sirens of the ambulance as it pulled up. The paramedics taking Helena from her arms and checking for her pulse. The excruciating pain she felt as her person was pronounced dead. Her teacher, Mrs. Frederic pulling her up from the ground and leading her inside. Washing the blood off her arms and being seated in a chair as Mrs. Frederic telephoned her parents. Everything had moved by as Myka sat in that chair in a silent stupor.

A memorial was held a few days after. No funeral as Helena's parents wanted her final resting place to be in England.

But here she was. In the flesh. Five years later. Standing before Myka, beautiful as ever.

"How, Helena, How!? I watched you die that day. I held you. You DIED Helena!" Myka's sobs were coming harder now, causing her to shake violently.

Helena held on to Myka's shoulders in an attempt to calm her friend.

"Myka, I'm not dead," Helena confirmed, her British accent crisp and smooth.

Myka looked up at Helena, words failing her in this moment.

"Myka, there's so much I wanted to tell you that day. So much I wanted to tell you even before that day. But I couldn't. It would have been dangerous for you if I did. Dangerous for your life."

As Myka looked at Helena, her mind went back to the days following the shooting. Myka's silence had held on as the days rolled into weeks and the weeks rolled into months. Everything had become mechanical for her. Eating, going to school, homework, even reading had lost its appeal. She was a shell of a girl walking around, trying to make sense of her life at such a tender age. But Pete never gave up on her. When everyone else chose to move on and leave her behind, Pete had stood by her and taught her to live again. Little by little, he got her to smile, to read, to talk. And here he was again, trying to give her her happiness back.

"Myka?" Helena asked softly, bringing Myka back to the present. She took Myka's hand and led her to a nearby bench. There was so much she had to tell her friend.


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n I'm sorry these chapters are so short, but I'm trying to update as much as I can as I go along.**

"Myka, do you remember that summer we snuck out in the middle of the night and went to the park to play on the swings?"

Myka gave Helena a sideways glance before nodding slowly, never letting go of her friend's hand.

"Right, well remember how when I was pushing you on the swing I heard a noise coming from the trees and I told you to stay on the swing while I go see what was making the noise?"

Again Myka nodded.

"Myka, what I saw that night changed my entire life. I saw a man being hacked to death. I witnessed a murder, Myka."

Myka's grip on Helena's hand tightened.

"It gets worse," Helena continued, "I accidentally stepped on a dry leaf and the murderer looked up and saw me. Before I could think, I instinctively ran back to you."

"...And you yanked me off the swing and pulled me all the way home until we were locked inside." Myka finished for her.

"My god Helena. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was scared darling. And I didn't want to scare you. I thought I could lock it away inside me and it would go away. But when I heard it on the news the next day I knew I had to tell someone. There was a detective working the case and his number was displayed all over the news for anyone who had information to call. The next evening I mustered up the courage and called him and told him everything that had happened. My parents were furious that I had gotten myself involved, but I knew what I was doing was right."

Helena paused, looking at Myka for any sign of what the younger girl was thinking. Despite them being two years apart in age, Helena had always found Myka more thoughtful and mature that the other girls her own age. That's what had drawn her to Myka the first time they met. Right now, looking at Myka, all she could see was compassion and patience in her dear friend's olive green eyes. She took that as encouragement to continue.

"Somehow it got out that there was a witness to the murder, and we started getting threatening phone calls at home, notes in our mailbox. Someone was trying to warn us that if I didn't retract my statement, my family would pay for it dearly. I didn't retract my statement but it was decided that I wouldn't testify either. An audio statement was taken and used for the case. But then the threats got worse. The brakes on dad's car got cut and mum started getting death threats at work. The police suggested that my family move into the Witness Protection Program, but I refused. I had finally found a place I was comfortable calling home, friends that I loved. _You_, Myka, I couldn't leave _you_."

Helena stole another glance at Myka here. The other girl interlaced their fingers and pulled Helena's hand onto her lap, bringing them closer on the bench.

"The shooting was not accidental Myka. Those people intended to kill me that day. But somehow they missed my heart by a few inches and hit my shoulder instead. The police took that as their opening to get me into the program. They had the paramedics pronounce me dead and carry my body away while I was unconscious. When I awoke I was in a lot of pain, but I was terrified, because I had no idea what had happened to you; if you were safe. The detective assured me that you were safe, but that if it happened again, we might not be so lucky. He convinced me that for everyone's safety, especially yours, it would be better if everyone believed I was dead."

At this last admission, a single tear trailed down Helena's cheek. As she looked away to hide her face, Myka lightly placed a finger on her chin, turning Helena to face her. All she could see was pain, hurt and fear in those deep dark eyes. She wanted more than anything to be the one to put the light back in those beautiful eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/n just a quick thank you to all my readers. It'svery encouraging to have my first W13 ff so well received. Special shout to all the Trinis reading. I was super elated to see I have some local readers :)**

"Myka I'm sorry for leaving you," Helena sobbed.

"Hey, shhhhh, you have nothing to be sorry for Helena. You were brave and strong, you sacrificed your own life to protect others. To protect me."

With that, Myka pulled Helena into her arms, holding on to the young woman as five years of pent up anguish found release in her tears. After five years of feeling that sense of loss, of feeling incomplete, Myka finally felt the pieces of herself falling into place. She held on to Helena for dear life.

As Helena's tears subsided, she pulled away to look at Myka.

"Gosh I'm terribly sorry Myka. I show up after five years and all I'm doing is crying my eyes out here."

Myka silenced Helena with a single finger on her lips before resting her forehead on Helena's.

"Helena, please stop apologizing. I admire you for what you did." she paused, looking into her friend's eyes.

Myka felt this strange urge to close the remaining distance between them and press her lips to Helena's, just so she could convey what she couldn't say to her friend. To be honest, Myka knew that she had always felt more than friendship towards Helena. Even before she could understand what it was she was feeling, she knew that there was something more to what she felt for her friend. Five years ago there was an innocent joy she felt every time she was around Helena. She would feel restless until she could see Helena again. She would wait impatiently to play in the park with her or to explore the woods had in hand with her friend. But in this moment there was more than just innocent, child-like joy she felt. There were butterflies fluttering in her stomach and she couldn't keep her eyes from the curve of her friend's full lips.

As if right on poorly-timed cue, Pete's truck pulled up again and he alighted the vehicle and jogged towards them. The moment now gone, Myka pulled away from Helena and scooted away on the bench.

"Hey-o, all good here?" he asked, looking from Myka to Helena.

"Yes Pete, we were just catching up on lost time," Helena responded, stealing a glance at Myka.

Helena had felt the change in her friend just before Pete's return. Something had changed in Myka's eyes, in the way she was looking at Helena. Myka's shifting gaze to Helena's lips hadn't gone un-noticed, and the older girl wished Pete hadn't shown up in that instant. There was so much hope for more in that moment.


	5. Chapter 5

As they rode back to town in Pete's truck, unsaid words hung in the air between Helena and Myka as Pete chattered away, oblivious to the lingering sideways glances shared between the two.

Myka had always wished and dreamed that she could get her best friend back and now that she was here, Myka found herself quite overwhelmed. Helena was always beautiful. As the fourteen year old she remembered, Helena was tall, slim and had the longest, silkiest black hair, just like the women on the shampoo advertisements. Myka had always envied Helena's dark straight tresses over her own brown unruly curls. At that time Helena was the taller of the two, standing a couple inches taller than Myka. Now at 19, Helena was simply gorgeous. Long legs, long hair, longing eyes. Myka needed to snap out of it or she would end up ruining her second chance at the best friendship she ever had. She shook her head, trying the chase those thoughts from her head.

Helena sat in silence between Myka and Pete in the truck cab. Her thoughts lost on the girl sitting next to her. Back then, Helena had always felt the need to protect Myka, to keep her safe, to ensure she was happy. It came effortlessly to her back then, catering to all Myka's unspoken needs. Now glancing to the girl, no, young woman seated next to her, Helena fully appreciated the remarkably beautiful woman she grew up to be. Helena always thought Myka was beautiful, despite Myka's constant referral to herself as the ugly duckling. Helena hoped the years had removed that wrong notion from her young friend's beliefs about herself.

"Helena it is so good to have you back. Mopey Myka here just hasn't been the same since you...well...died. It took me like a half a year to finally get her to talk again. Not even all her books could cheer her up." Pete chattered on.

Helena felt a stab of guilt at Pete's words. What had she subjected Myka to over the past five years?! She had left the girl to mourn her and she wasn't even dead! The thought of Myka, shutting the world out and shutting herself off was unbearable. Her breath hitched as she tried to will herself to not cry again.

Myka, still as in tune with Helena as they were five years ago, noticed the subtle shift in her friend's demeanor and reached for her hand, again interlacing their fingers like she did on the bench earlier, silently letting her closeness and warmth comfort her friend and calm her own agitated mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n: Heyyy, again sorry the chapters are so short. I'm typing this one on my phone so I hope it doesn't come out too weird. To all of you, thank you so much for reading and sending me your encouraging words. hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm still not sure where the story is going or how long it will be or even how far it will progress, but I guess as we go along it will unveil itself. **

Pete pulled up at their usual hang out spot, Angie's, and killed the engine before jumping out.

"You girls coming? Or you gonna sit there all evening?" he chided, bring both girls out of their thought spells.

Myka pulled her hand out of Helena's and smiled shyly at her before opening the door. She held the door for Helena to exit the vehicle and allowed her to walk ahead. Myka didn't know what to make of her emotions. She was definitely overjoyed that Helena was alive and healthy and here again. But she didn't know how to process that other feeling, the one that was making her feel giddy every time Helena's eyes caught hers or Helena smiled that secret smile her way. She knew that they were going to be meeting up the rest of their little clique of friends in the diner, but all she wanted right now was to go home and sort through the million thoughts and feelings buzzing through her.

"Hey Mykes, you okay?" Myka looked up to find Pete looking at her with concern in his eyes. She hadn't moved an inch since closing the door after Helena got out of the truck. She was still rooted to the same spot, hand still on the truck door.

"Myka!"

"Yeah Pete, I'm...I'm fine. It's just a lot I guess. Y'know, seeing her after so long. Finding out she's alive and well. It's like I'm so happy I don't know what to do with myself but at the same time kinda scared that this might be all a dream and any minute now I'll wake up and she'll be gone again."

"Mykes, I promise you. It's real. She's real. And she's here. Really here, Myka."

Myka looked up at Pete, feeling the sincerity in his words. He always had a way of making her feel better. She slid her arm into his and let him lead her to the entrance where Helena was waiting on them.

"Hey hey hey!" Pete greeted everyone in his customary way, sliding into the booth next to his girlfriend Kelly.

"Hey babe, miss me much?" he cooed at her, stealing a quick kiss.

"Gross guys, get a room already." Claudia, the youngest in the group, complained. She was one of those little geniuses, a true prodigy, who skipped a few years ahead and landed herself presently in senior year at the age of 14. She had been a natural admission to the group, her quick wit and ageless wisdom never failing to amaze the others.

"Um guys, there's someone I'd like you guys to meet," Myka announced, she and Helena still standing at the side of the table.

"This is an old friend of mine, my best friend, Helena Wells." she introduced, gesturing towards Helena. "Helena, this is Claudia, Steve, Leena and Kelly."

"I'm really delighted to meet all of you. It's good to see that Myka has such wonderful friends." Helena greeted the group politely, hoping she was making a good impression.

The others scooted over, giving both girls a place to sit. Before they knew it, conversations were going around, everyone talking to everyone, about everything. Helena smiled, truly happy that her Myka was surrounded by such good people. She found herself easily falling into conversation with Claudia about physics projects and various technical designs, the young prodigy excited to finally find someone who matched her passion for invention.

After consuming an obscene number of pizzas and cherry coke, the group decided to scatter for the night. Myka, noticing how cuddly Pete and Kelly were, dismissed his offer to give her a lift home. Instead she walked up to Helena who was still chatting animatedly with Claudia at the diner entrance.

"Hey."

"Hello darling, wherever did you find this girl? She's absolutely brilliant!" Helena inquired, gesturing towards Claudia who blushed deeply at the compliment.

"Claud! You comin'?" Steve called after her, distracting her from the pair.

"Hold on to your pants Jinksy, be there in a sec!" she yelled back.

"Bye Mykes, bye Helena, I'm really glad I met you."

"Me too darling, good night."

As Claudia walked off to meet Steve, Helena turned to Myka who had just been standing there silently observing the interaction between her youngest friend and her closest friend.

"Well Miss Bering, it looks like it's just you and I, left to our wits out here tonight."

Myka smiled fondly at Helena, reminded of the many make believe adventures they had embarked upon in their childhood with that one signature opening statement of Helena's. Given the way Myka was feeling in this moment, it's was definitely going to be a hell of an adventure. She took Helena's hand in hers for the third time that day, and responded like she always did, "Lead the way, Miss Wells."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/n hope you like this one. Again, typed on phone so pardon the errors. Trini readers, top of the morning! Pm me na. Lol**

That night, as Myka lay in her bed, everything about that afternoon flooded her mind, all seeking their own individual attention to be processed and dealt with. She was laying flat on her back in the centre of her bed, hands resting on her stomach, fingers drumming away while her eyes followed endless invisible patterns on her ceiling.

Their walk home had been comfortable, as they both fell into easy conversation as if they had never spent a day apart.

They had walked down Main Street hand in hand like they used to when they were kids, except they weren't kids anymore. This time they both felt that spark every time Myka's thumb brushed over Helena's knuckles or Helena squeezed Myka's hand while emphasizing a point in their discussion.

But the moment that troubled Myka most was when they stood outside Helena's new home.

"Alright darling, this is my stop."

"Whose house is it, Helena?"

"It's my grand-uncle's actually. He's been living here for quite some time now. He's the curator at the museum downtown."

"Oh wow, I didn't know you had a... grand-uncle living here."

"Yes yes, he's been here since the dawn of time, apparently, but he's quite the reclusive type so his social interactions are restricted to the artifacts at the museum and this artifact of a house he lives in."

Myka looked up at the house, despite it's age, there was a grandeur about it, very Victorian in its stance.

"Well I guess I had better go in then," Helena said, pulling Myka's attention back to her.

"Yeah, I guess so." Myka responded, her feet shuffling nervously.

"Myka what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Myka responded, avoiding eye contact with Helena. "I'm just glad you're back, that's all."

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah."

Myka finally lifted her eyes from the ground to meet Helena's, seeing her own confused emotions mirrored there. Without thinking, she leaned forward, closing the gap between them. She wanted nothing more than to feel the older girl's lips against hers. She had never done anything like this. It was impulsive, risky, emotional - nothing like Myka at all. Something about Helena made her want to break the rules, take chances.

As her face neared Helena's though, her wave of confidence dissipated and instead she pulled her friend into a tentative hug. She couldn't help but smile as Helena's head rested on her shoulder and her arms snaked around the taller girl's neck, tightening their embrace. The last time she had hugged Helena like this she was two inches shorter than Helena, now she stood a full inch and a half over the girl.

"Well well well, look who's all tall and towering over me," Helena teased, trying to break the tension. She held Myka at arms length and looked her over.

"Myka you truly are remarkable darling."

Myka was grateful for the dim lighting, positive that her cheeks were rapidly turning from shades of pink to red. Sure, as she was growing up she had gotten the odd compliment on what a pretty young lady she was turning out to be but something about the way Helena said it made her feel like her beauty was something her friend always saw and now she stood there as confirmation of what her friend had seen and believed about her all along. It made her indeed feel remarkable.

Helena couldn't resist the blush creeping on to her friend's face and spreading to her neck. She tiptoed slightly and placed a soft kiss on a reddened cheek.

"Goodnight, dear Myka."

And with that she spun on her heels and walked up the path leaving a burning impression on Myka's cheek and her heart.

Now it was 2am and Myka still hadn't been able to find sleep. The one memory of the evening that kept starring in her mind was that moment when she had almost kissed Helena. Despite being disappointed that she had chickened out, the rational part of her berated her for taking such a risky chance in the first place. Helena was back in her life, something that she had wished for endlessly for the last five years. She couldn't afford to risk losing her friend again. This had to stop. She had to keep her emotions in check. With that resolve she closed her eyes hoping to sink into a peaceful slumber, but unfortunately, sleep never came that night.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/n hello fellows! Sorry for sticking with the updating. Got a bit distracted with work. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

The next morning found Myka still awake in bed. She was grateful it was Saturday so she didn't have to go to school, but then she remembered the crates of books that had come in to the store earlier that week. Her father had assigned her the task of unpacking and properly labeling the books before shelving them. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise, meant to take her mind off the thoughts that plagued her throughout the night. Nevertheless, today was going to be a long day.

After breakfast, she made her way downstairs to Bering & Sons to get started with her task. She surveyed the crates at the back of the store trying to decide where to start. As she stood there, her mind once again started to deviate towards thoughts of Helena. That twinkle in her dark eyes, the silky smooth look of her dark tresses, the curvature of her lithe body. Myka shook her head trying to chase those errant images from her mind.

"Crates. Books. Label. Shelve." she chanted to herself, trying to maintain focus on the task at hand. With that mantra in mind she began unpacking and sorting the books.

A couple hours later she was still in the same spot, surrounded by empty crates and piles of books. She heard the soft jingle of the front door opening and closing but chose to remain in her spot a bit longer. She would let the newcomer browse a bit before getting up.

She picked up the last book from the crate next to her and scanned it into system with the palm scanner in her hand before sticking the label on it. Before she could place it in its appropriate pile though, she felt thin long (and warm) fingers slide across her face to cover her eyes. She jumped a bit at the contact and tried to turn around. But the hands kept her in place. She was about to say something when a warm breath on her neck and a low whisper in her air choked her words back.

"Missed me darling?" Helena's sultry accented voice purred in her ear. Myka wasn't prepared for this. Those three words whispered in her ear made her weak in the knees causing her to stumble a bit.

Helena's hands quickly left her eyes and went around her waist to stabilize her. Myka resisted the urge to press back into her friend and instead spun out of her grip and whirled around to face her.

"Helena! What are you doing here?"

"Well darling, it is Saturday morning and I figured the best place to look for you would be here. If I remember correctly, you did spend most of your weekend either curled up on that cot in the corner reading or helping your dad pack the books on the shelves. Am I right?"

"Absolutely. Except now I've graduated to watching the store entirely on my own and unpacking crates!" Myka quipped sarcastically.

"Any chance I can steal you away for a quick lunch?" Helena asked, hoping her friend would say yes.

"I don't think so Helena. My dad would be absolutely furious if I closed the store to go out for lunch." Apart from that, she also wasn't sure if she could handle being alone with Helena just yet. She needed time to compose herself and work out exactly what she was feeling for her friend. This was all very new to her and she didnt know where to begin. If only it were as easy as unpacking and sorting books from crates.

Helena looked at Myka, hoping the girl would say something more but nothing more was said. She wasn't sure what was going on inside her friend's head but she was pretty sure it had something to do with the effect she seemed to have on the younger girl every time they were alone together. Helena had accepted that she had more than just a passing appreciation for the fairer sex a few years ago. Even though she never acted on it, she knew that she was very much attracted to women, and right now, Myka in particular. But the look on her friend's face told her that Myka wasn't up to speed with her own emotions as yet.

As Myka said nothing more, Helena turned and headed for the door; disappointed, but patient.

"H-H-Helena?" Myka stammered, halting Helena in her tracks.

"Is there a number I can reach you at? Maybe after I'm finished I can give you a call and we can maybe meet up?" Myka offered.

"Brilliant. Here let me just write it down for you." she reached around and grabbed the pen out of Myka's hair and quickly scribbled her number on a piece of paper before handing back both to Myka.

"Don't leave me waiting too long darling." she flirted lightly, relishing the unmistakable look on Myka's face.

The chime jingled and she was out the door before Myka could respond.

Myka spent the rest of the afternoon absent-mindedly packing out the books, her mind the furthest place from her current activity. All she could think of was her raven haired friend. Myka still didn't know what to do about her dilemma. She wanted to believe that Helena was having the same feelings as her but she didn't want to misconstrue her friend's "friendliness" for something more. It had only been a little over 24 hours since Helena was back in her life and already she felt like everything was in kilter. She treasured the instances when Helena was close to her, all her subtle touches and lingering glances but if she didn't find a way to keep her cool around her friend, she would simply explode with the emotional overload. She desperately wanted to see Helena again but she wasn't sure she could handle being alone with her just yet, so she did the next best thing.

Picking up her cellphone she hit favorites, dialed the number at the top of the list and waited for an answer.

"Pete! Hey, what are you up to? You got any plans for later?" she prattled out.

"Whoa slow down there speedy mc speedo. Plans with the what now?"

"Do you, have any, plans, for later?" she enunciated.

"Nope. What you have in mind?"

"Oh nothing, was just feeling to get out for a bit, hang out with the crew. You know, nothing special."

"Well, my parents are out for the night, wanna hang out in the Pete cave? I can call up Claud, Steve and Kelly. You call up Leena and Helena. Deal? Say 7?"

"Sounds perfect. Thanks Pete."

She hung up the phone and dialed Leena, quickly relating the message to her.

Next was the object of all this fuss. Helena.

She pulled out the slip of paper and paused to admire the elegant scrawl before punching the digits into her phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Helena! It's me, Myka. I was wondering if you're free tonight. We're meeting up at Pete's tonight to hang out a bit. I was wondering if you'd like to join us."

"Oh I'd love to darling. Is he still at the place out by the lake?"

"Yup. We're meeting there at about 7. See you then."

"I look forward to it darling."

Myka hung up, her heart thumping out of her chest. What was it about her friend that had her going so? Was she really actually attracted to Helena? Her best friend? A GIRL?!


	9. Chapter 9

The Pete cave was a small one-story one-room structure adjoining the jetty to the lake. Pete and his dad had built it for Pete's 10th birthday. Back then it was packed with toys and comic books. As the years went by more and more things were added. From electricity to a mini fridge and sofa. This was where they spent most of their free time.

As Myka walked up the pathway to the lake, she surveyed the area, mentally taking attendance. She could see Claudia and Leena fiddling with the controls to the lanterns hanging around the jetty. Steve was on the other side skipping rocks through the water. She could barely recognize who was inside the hut. All she could see was three figures moving about. She moved closer to get a better look.

"Myka! Hey, check this. I connected the lights control to my music system so the lights will blink to the beat of the music. Neat right?!" Claudia beamed.

"Very neat Claudia. But knowing your music choices, these poor lanterns are gonna be turned into strobe lights!" Myka teased.

"I know right! That's the best part! I'm gonna go pump some beats right now!"

Myka moved further towards the hut, wondering if her raven-haired friend had arrived as yet. To her disappointment, when she poked her head inside the room she saw only Pete, Kelly and Kurt Smoller? What was he doing here? If this had been two days ago she would have been anxious and excited at the prospect of hanging out with him. She had had the biggest crush on him since he moved here last year. But now since Helena's return, the sight of Kurt stirred nothing in her, nothing like the effect Helena has on her with merely a thought.

"Myka! You made it! And you brought snacks!" Pete chimed, grabbing the overstuffed bags from Myka's hands before pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

"We were just about to go outside and see what the others were up to."

With that he turned her around and led her out the door, Kelly and Kurt in tow.

They went down to the water's edge where Pete had already laid out a picnic blanket with a cooler and a basket of what she suspected might be Leena's famous muffins. He unceremoniously dropped Myka's snack bags next to the basket before plopping down on the huge blanket.

Kelly quickly took the spot next to him while Kurt opted for one of the nearby garden chairs. They could hear Claudia's music wafting down to them, all the lights in the area pulsing to the beat. Before long Steve and Leena joined them, taking up the other empty spaces on the blanket.

"Where's Claudia?" Myka inquired.

"She's still fiddling with her music system. Trying to get the right mix in before coming down here." Steve responded.

"Sooooo, who wants a beer?" Pete asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Pete, where did you get beer?!" Myka demanded.

"Take a chill pill Mykes, Kurt and I got them. You want one or not?"

She shook her head no and turned to look at the water while Pete passed beers around to the others.

Myka found herself bored and a little bit irritated. The whole point of this evening was so that she could see Helena again but the girl was still noticeably absent. Myka sighed inwardly, resisting the urge to call or text Helena to find out where she was.

"Myka?" she heard Pete calling to her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Kurt was just asking if you wanted to go out on the lake with him. He wants to take the boat out."

"Oh no, it's ok. I'm fine. Thank you though." she replied absently. Again, if this were two days ago her insides would be shooting fireworks like the fourth of July at the thought of being alone out on the lake in a boat with Kurt Smoller. But right now, she couldn't care less. There was someone else she would rather be out on that boat with.

"Come on Myka, be a sport." Pete encouraged, holding her by the arm and pulling her up. Pete knew she liked Kurt. That's probably why he invited the boy, to give her a chance to get to know him better. Pete didn't know that she was no longer interested in Kurt.

"It'll be fine. You'll get to spend some time alone with him. He seems to like you too." Pete whispered in her ear before dragging her down to the boat to meet Kurt.

"You changed your mind! Great." Kurt beamed at her, holding his hand out for her. She took it and let him guide her into the boat. He jumped in and Pete quickly untied the rope.

"You kids have fun now!" Pete teased.

And with that they were off. Kurt rowing while Myka kept her gaze on the shore, still looking out for the true object of her attention and affection. Kurt had started talking to her but she was barely paying attention; inserting appropriated nods and mmhmms here and there to appear as though she was listening.

Claudia had just finished lining up her playlist when Helena walked up to her.

"Hello Claudia." she greeted.

"Hey Helena! You made it! Sweeet. Come on, I was now going down to the water to meet the others."

They made their way down the short path to the water's edge where the others were lounging. Pete sprung up from his spot to greet her with one of his signature bone-crushing hugs.

"Hey Helena. Glad you could make it!"

"Thank you for the invitation, Peter. Is Myka here as yet?" she inquired.

"Oh yeah. She's in the love boat with lover boy Kurt over there." Pete grinned, gesturing towards the lake.

"I'm sorry what?"

"Don't tell her I told you this, but Myka has had this crush of epic proportions on my buddy Kurt. He seemed to be sweet on her since she tutored him Math last semester. So I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to set them up. Brilliant plan, if I might say so myself." Pete beamed proudly.

Helena continued staring out onto the lake, her eyes glassing over with the first sign of tears which she steeled herself to not shed. As if on cue, the two figures on the now stationary boat moved forward, meeting at the lips.

It was all Helena could take. She quickly mumbled an excuse to Pete and an apology as to why she couldn't stay before running off to her car, the tears now flowing freely down her cheeks.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/n I'm sorry this chapter doesn't give much but I figure any update is better than no update right? I'm hustling getting ready for work so I didn't get a chance to read it over so please pardon any errors. Keep the comments coming :) **

**T**

**Ps: IWearTheCrown, this was rushed especially for you. **

Myka pushed him back the instant he came on to her.

"What are you doing Kurt?" she demanded, bringing the back of her hand up to her lips.

"I-I thought you were leaning forward to kiss me."

"Gosh no! I leaned forward because my butt was beginning to go numb on this hard seat. Not to kiss you! Why would I do that?"

"Oh. I'm sorry. I guess I just thought you liked me." he apologized sheepishly, embarrassment written all over his face.

"Look Kurt," Myka began, her tone of voice considerably softer than before, "I like you, you're a great guy, just not for me, ok?" she looked into his eyes trying to see if he was understanding what she was saying.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll just row us back to shore, if that's ok with you."

"Thank you."

And with that they silently made their way back to shore.

"Hey man! I see you scored the big one there. Way to go!" Pete congratulated Kurt, putting his hand up for a high five. Kurt ignored him and made his way to the cooler, yanking a beer out and tearing the top off before taking a huge swig. Pete stood confused but quickly dismissed it.

"Mykaaaaaaa! O! M! G! You just frakking kissed Kurt Smoller dude!" Claudia squealed excitedly.

"I don't wanna talk about it ok Claud?"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing Claud, I just don't want to ok?"

"Alright alright, but like, are you guys an item now?"

"CLAUDIA!"

"Ok! Ok! I get it. No talking bout the smooch fest on the boat!"

Claudia stalked off to find Steve, leaving Myka to her own thoughts.

Myka walked down the jetty and sat on the edge, dangling her legs over so her toes could touch the water. She wanted nothing more that to see Helena right now. She couldn't help but wonder why her raven haired friend hadn't arrived yet. It was after 9 and there was still no sign of her. Maybe it was time to give her a call.

She pulled out her cellphone and dialed the newest addition to her faves.

The phone rang out until a crisp British voice message greeted her ears.

"This is Helena, I'm sorry I cannot take your call at the moment. But please do leave a short message and I will get back to you."

Myka smiled at the voice, but hung up the phone just as the voice message beep played. She didn't want to leave a voicemail. She remained on the jetty, wiggling her toes in the water while her thoughts roamed freely. There was still so much she didn't understand about what she was feeling for Helena, but she figured it had to be much stronger for what she had felt for Kurt. Whatever she had felt for him had automatically dissipated the moment Helena walked back into her life. This led her to thinking that possibly what she was hoping for with Kurt was simply to fill the void left by Helena five years ago, but now that the girl was back, she naturally took her rightful place in Myka's heart, effortlessly displacing Kurt. But then that would mean that Myka harbored these feeling for Helena for a long time, much longer than the two days she had been back. She didn't know what to make of this latest revelation. She just felt an urgent need to see Helena.

As she was about to whip out her phone to try calling again, she felt a few drops of water hit her nose. Then a few more. Before she knew it, the rain was drizzling. She rose quickly and made her way back to the others, who were now all scampering about trying to pack up everything. Claudia was running up the path to get to her music system. Myka quickly grabbed a lawn chair and the blanket and followed the others up the path back to Pete's house. By now they were all positively soaking.

Pete handed out towels and dry changes of clothing to everyone. After toweling off and changing, they all re-assembled in the living room.

"Well now that we're all stuck in here, how bout a movie night?" Pete suggested excitedly.

Everyone nodded in agreement so they all found comfortable spots on the sofa or rug while Pete looked for a movie. He finally settled on the Matrix trilogy. Myka didn't really care, her thoughts were furthest from this room right now. She pulled out her phone again to see if Helena had called back. Nothing. She opened up her whatsapp to see if her friend also had the app and was pleased to see the new addition to her contacts list was also featured there. She tapped the name and again was surprised to see that her friend was currently online. She quickly typed a message and waited for a response.

_Hey Helena._

She waited a few minutes before her phone chimed.

_Hello Myka. _

_What happened tonight? I was looking forward to seeing you. _

_I'm sorry Myka, this really isn't a good time. We'll talk tomorrow ok?_

And with that, Helena's status changed from 'online' to 'last seen'

There was nothing Myka could do but wait till tomorrow to talk to Helena.

Somewhere around the second movie Myka dozed off, her mind still on Helena.

When she awoke the next morning her neck was sore from the angle at which she was sleeping. It was so early, everyone was still asleep. Even Leena. Myka needed to get home. She quickly scribbled a note for Pete before grabbing her keys and rushing out the door. It was too early to call Helena so she would have to wait a bit longer to phone her friend.

When she got home, she made a bee-line for her room and plopped face-down on her bed. Time was moving too slowly. She needed to talk to Helena now. She pulled out her phone again to check her whatsapp. Helena's status read _last seen yesterday at 10:21pm_. She slapped her phone down on the bed with an exasperated sigh. She needed a distraction. She reached for the book on her dresser. Maybe getting lost in another world for a few hours would take her mind off a certain British girl.

She read until she finally dozed off. When she awoke again she was pleased to see that it was now 9:58am. Definitely a good time to call. She reached for her phone and hit the last dialed number. Again it rang out before the accented voice message greeted her. Why wasn't Helena answering her phone?!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/n ok, so typed this at work, on my phone. Didn't get to proof read it again so pardon my errors. Hope you enjoy. Do send me your comments. I enjoy reading them all. **

**T**

Helena stared at the phone vibrating on the table beside her laptop. This was the 5th call from Myka for the day. She felt a tinge of guilt for ignoring the calls but she really wasn't ready to face Myka just yet. She had been certain that Myka had feelings for her but after lastnight she had confirmation that she was nothing but a friend to the younger girl. This broke her heart but she willed herself to not breakdown in tears again. This was not her. This crying mess. She never cried, for anything. What she needed was some time to clear her head and work out those feeling so she could be a true friend to Myka. They had lost so much time already, she didn't want to muck things up by complicating it with these...'feelings'. Right now she was going to focus on the design in front of her. The phone started vibrating again, this time with another whatsapp message.

_Hey Helena, what's going on? I've been trying to call you. Is everything okay?_

Helena purposefully did not open the message so that Myka would not see it as read. She desperately wanted to see the girl and just be around her. But she knew she couldn't do that just yet. She simply wasn't ready to be the friend Myka needed her to be.

Myka was positively irritated. Helena was not responding to her at all. Not answering her calls, not checking her messages. Nothing. Her phone rang and she grabbed it up, answering it before looking at the caller id.

"Helena!"

"Whoa. Noooo. Despite my obvious hotness, I don't have the British accent to compliment the look." Pete teased over the phone.

"Ughhh. What's up Pete?"

"I should be the one asking you that, cranky pants. What happened lastnight?"

"What do you mean? Nothing happened lastnight."

"Um, you, Kurt. That kiss. You telling him off. I thought you liked him Mykes?"

" I'm sorry Pete. I did. But I'm just not that into him anymore. I don't know Pete. I just have a lot to sort out right now." she confessed.

"What's going on with you Myka? He's the only boy I've ever known you to have a crush on and suddenly you're not into him anymore?"

"I know it sounds weird Pete but please, I'm just really confused right now ok?"

"Confused about how you feel for Kurt? I know you didn't expect him to kiss you Myka and it might seem to be moving too fast for you, but trust me, you'll be ok. This is good."

"No Pete, this has nothing to do with Kurt. I'm positive I'm not interested in him like that. That's the one thing I'm not confused about."

"Then what is it Myka?"

"Pete, I'm really not up to talking about this right now, ok?"

"Alright. No problem. But if you need to talk you know I'm here right?"

"Yeah Pete. Thanks. Goodnight."

"Pick you up in the morning for school, k?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

It was 8pm already. Myka had no idea where the day just disappeared to. The weekend had passed and she hadn't even touched her homework. This was definitely a first for the usually diligent girl. She decided to buckle down and get the work done. Might as well since Helena clearly did not have time for her.

It was a little before midnight when she finally finished up the last of her homework. She rubbed he back of her neck to relieve the tension there before picking up her phone to check if Helena had contacted. Still there were no returned calls or messages. She didn't know what to think anymore. Helena was either too busy or purposely avoiding her. But she couldn't fathom why. Myka fell asleep with these unpleasant thoughts in her mind.

The next week passed in much the same way. Myka's calls to Helena's cellphone remaining unanswered and her whatsapp messages ignored. She didn't even know where to find Helena. The couple times she stopped by the house where Helena was staying the man who answered the door said that Helena was not at home. She had never asked Helena what she did during the day. She knew the girl was too old to still be in high school and she didn't picture Helena as the type who would settle for Community College. So it was either she had a job or the man answering the door was lying.

By Friday her patience had run out and she decided it was time to pay yet another visit to the house. She drove up the street and parked on the side, remaining seated for a couple minutes to compose herself. When she was ready to confront Helena, she cut the engine off and jumped out the car, jogging up the path to the house. Her fingers hovered hesitantly over the brass knocker before holding it rapping it a couple times. She waited a minute before raising her hand to knock again. Before she could grab the knocker though, the door opened, revealing the same gentleman who had greeted her on the previous two occasions.

"Ah, good evening my dear. Here to see Helena again I suppose?" he asked kindly, his voice not quite as accented as Helena's.

"Yeah, hi... um good evening. Is she at home?"

"I'm dreadfully sorry dear, but she hasn't come in yet for the evening."

"Oh. If you don't mind me asking, where does she spend her days? Where might I find her?"

"Why at the museum of course! I've been ill this past week and Helena, kind soul that she is, has been working extra hours to ensure my work doesn't suffer from my absence."

"Extra hours? So she has a regular job there?"

"Yes yes, when she told me she had a year off from school and was looking to spend some time here I suggested she come work with me at the museum and thankfully she accepted! Oh dear, you must think I'm a mannerless brute, keeping you at the doorstep. Do come in and join me for a cup of tea."

"I would love to sir, but I really need to see Helena, I wanna try to catch her at the museum before she leaves."

"Alright dear. They'll be closing up now, but you can just tell the guard that Caturanga sent you to meet Helena and he'll let you right through."

"Thank you."

With that Myka said her goodbyes and skipped down the path to her car, her mood positively brighter than before. She drove the short distance to the museum and parked in the small parking lot.

As expected, the museum was closed and the security stood at the entryway. After relating the message from Helena's grand-uncle, the guard let her through, giving her directions as to where Helena could be found.

She hurried to the elevator and hit the button to the fourth floor, nervously shifting from foot to foot, unsure of what she was going to say to Helena.

She alighted the elevator and hurried to the 19th Century inventions section. As she rounded the corner she spotted the elusive girl facing a display case, clipboard in hand. Myka walked up to her quietly, not wanting to allow her any avenue of escape.

"Hey." she greeted as she stopped in front the display.

"Myka! What are you doing here?" Helena questioned, shocked that Myka had found her.

"Well, when you weren't answering my calls or replying my messages, I decided to do a little digging. And well, here I am."

"Caturanga sent you, didn't he?"

"Yeah he might have had a big part to play in me finally finding you."

Both girls stood looking at each other. Neither sure of what to say next. Myka finally spoke up.

"Why have you been avoiding me Helena?"

"I'm not avoiding you, I've just been really busy."

"Bullshit Helena, you can't possibly be that busy that you can't even send me a message! What's wrong? And why didn't you come to Pete's on Saturday night? Or at least have the courtesy to call and say you couldn't make it?!" Myka demanded, anger rising in her voice.

"I was there! You were just too damn busy to notice!" Helena retorted.

"What the hell are you talking about? I spent all evening looking out for you!"

"Bollocks Myka! You were too occupied with that bloke's tongue down your throat to notice I was even there!" Helena spat, tears stinging her eyes. She turned away, not wanting Myka to see how this was affecting her.

"Helena." Myka started, reaching to turn Helena around.

Helena pulled away, taking a step away from Myka.

Myka moved in closer, again trying to turn Helena around, this time not allowing her to pull away.

"Helena. I'm sorry you had to see that, but trust me, it's not how it looked." Myka explained, her heart breaking at the look of pain on Helena's face. It hurt to know that she was the one who had her friend so distraught.

"Myka I know what I saw okay? And it's fine if you have a boyfriend. I'm happy for you really. You don't need to make excuses for finding happiness. I would be a fool to think that after all this time you would wait for me and that you would actually have feelings for someone like me."

Helena rambled on. Myka was taken aback a bit at what Helena was saying. She couldn't believe her friend, the girl that had been invading her thoughts and dreams for the past week was actually admitting to having feelings for her. This hot, sexy, intelligent young woman, with a smile that could charm the Pope out of church, actually liked her. Myka was dumbfounded. Without wasting another second she took a step towards the still rambling Helena and put her hand around the girl's neck, pulling her forward and doing what she had longed to do that night after their walk home. She gently pressed her lips to Helena's, silencing the words on her friend's lips.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/n: ok so this is something I've been toying with in my mind for some time and I really hope I can capture it effectively. If not, gosh, please forgive my lack of writing skills! I hope you're up for the twist!**

Myka remained frozen in her spot. Her lips were still barely pressed against Helena's but she could not move; shocked by her bold action. It wasn't until she felt Helena's lips move against hers and the girl's hands reach up to tangle in her curls that she finally snapped out of her stupor. As if propelled by the butterflies in her stomach, she leaned forward, resting her hands on Helena's hips, drawing her closer. Helena let out a low groan at the contact. Her tongue snaked out of her mouth, running against Myka's lower lip seeking entrance. Myka's soft whimper gave her the chance she needed, and her tongue carefully entered the soft sweet mouth, beginning a slow, shy dance with Myka's. Myka needed more. She pushed Helena backwards until her back made contact with the opposite wall, pressing against her so that they were flush against each other. Breast to breast. Hip to hip. When oxygen became a concern she pulled away reluctantly, resting her forehead against Helena's, both girls panting breathlessly, a crimson shade colouring their heated skin. Helena looked into Myka's eyes, silently trying to convey to her what she couldn't quite put into words just yet. She saw the same intensity of emotion reflected in those olive eyes, now considerably darker with desire. Helena felt alive. As she pulled Myka's head down to kiss her again, they both heard the ding of the elevator opening, causing them to jump apart. They both smiled shyly at each other before looking towards the direction of the disturbance.

"Miss Helena, we're changing shifts now. Should I tell the the relief guard you'll be staying on?" the guard asked.

"Oh, no Roy. It's ok. We'll be right down. Just let me pack up my stuff." Helena responded, still a bit out of breath from their earlier kiss.

As the guard disappeared around the corner Helena turned back to Myka, drawing the girl's head down to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

"I've waited so long for this." she confessed, forehead now resting on Myka's.

"Mmmmm, how long?"

"Too long." And with that she drew Myka forward again, capturing her mouth in a searing kiss.

Again, oxygen became an issue and they broke apart.

"Let me just pick up my bag from the office and we'll go home, ok?"

Myka nodded, releasing her grasp around Helena's waist.

As Helena wandered off to gather her things, Myka decided to peruse the various displays around. She couldn't really concentrate on the items before her though as her mind was currently on the raven-haired vixen of a girl in the next room. She allowed her fingers to lazily trail over the shelf, stopping to finger an old yellowing document with a handsome penmanship across it.

Before she could read its title, Helena was back at her side again, sliding her palm into Myka's and tugging her towards the exit. They remained hand in hand for the short elevator ride, a quiet, content, yet nervous air settling between them.

Helena, who would have usually walked the few blocks back home, gladly followed Myka to her car, sliding gracefully into the passenger seat. Their short drive back to Helena's home was passed in companionable silence, their fingers interlaced over the central compartment between the seats.

As they walked up the path to the front door Myka pulled her hand away from Helena's, unsure about Helena's position regarding her grand-uncle. Helena smiled and re-laced her fingers with Myka's, pulling her in for a brief kiss before sliding the key into the lock and turning it, eyes never leaving Myka's.

"Papa?" Helena called out, dropping her keys on the table and hanging up her jacket and Myka's.

"In here dear," he called from the study, "come see this very curious anomaly I've uncovered."

Both girls followed his voice to the study.

"Oh dear, I didn't realise you had company. I'm delighted this young lady found you, she has been here almost everyday this week asking for you."

Myka blushed at this, but Helena looked at her with even more adoration in her eyes.

"You girls go ahead, I can show this to you later." he dismissed them both.

Myka followed Helena into the kitchen, the butterflies in her stomach doing somersaults in their confined space.

"Might I interest you in a cup of tea, darling? Or perhaps a coffee?" Helena offered.

"Um yeah. Tea's fine."

Helena set about preparing the tea while Myka took a seat at the counter, nervousness evident on her face. She wasn't sure what she was doing or what was going to happen next, but she knew that it felt right, like things were somehow finally falling into place. Helena placed a cup before her and a plate of scones.

"Stop over-thinking, Myka. You always had a habit of over processing things. Just let this be, whatever it's meant to be."

Myka looked up, losing herself in Helena's gentle brown eyes. She reached across to cup the girl's face, her thumb caressing the soft smooth skin beneath her fingers.

Despite Myka saying nothing, Helena understood what she was trying to communicate to her; Myka wanted this, but she needed to take things slowly. She pulled Myka off her stool and brought her to stand between her own legs.

"Myka, I care a great lot about you. I always have. We won't do anything you're not ready to do. We can take this as slow as you like ok?" she whispered, dipping her head to press her lips against Myka's in a slow reassuring kiss. As their kiss deepened, Myka's cellphone rang off.

"Ugh!" she grunted, pulling away to grab her phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh hi mom."

"Oh. Crap. I'm sorry. I forgot to call."

"Yeah yeah. I'm on my way."

Myka ended the call, a worried look on her face.

"Helena I'm sorry. I have to go. I completely forgot to tell my parents I would be staying out a bit after school. My dad's pretty angry. Mom wants me to come home now."

"Oh. I'm sorry darling. Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Definitely. I'll be in the store, come spend the day with me." Myka smiled, reaching for one more kiss from Helena before rushing out the door.

When Myka got home her father was fuming. He yelled at her all the way till she slammed her bedroom door. She collapsed on her bed forgoing dinner just to avoid having to face him. She wanted to call Helena but her cellphone battery had died on her way home so she plugged it in to charge and returned to her position on the bed. She picked up the book she had been reading all week and resumed from where she had left out. Before long, she drifted off into sleep, gladly dreaming of Helena's lips on hers.

The instant Myka awoke the next morning she knew something was off. She opened her eyes and looked around her room. Everything was the same and in its respective place. Something was wrong though. She picked up her phone from the charger and looked at the time.

6:15am.

She remembered the events of the evening before. She and Helena finally confessing and acting on their feelings for each other. Her dad yelling at her when she got home. Locking herself in her room and reading her book. She grabbed her phone again and hit favourites, ready to call Helena.

Her name wasn't there. She closed the app and reopened it again. Still no Helena. She went to her recently dialed numbers and scrolled through. Still nothing. Strange, she thought. Maybe her phone was acting up again, she figured.

She quickly dialed Pete, hoping he wouldn't be too upset about her waking him this early on a Saturday morning. After a few rings the phone connected, she could hear Pete struggling with the phone. Finally she heard a distorted "Hello?"

"Hey Pete? I'm sorry to wake you do early, but I need to get Helena's number. My phone is acting up again and somehow erased her from my contacts. Did she by chance give you her number?"

"Myka, what are you talking about?" A now fully awake Pete responded.

"Gosh Pete, Helena! Do you have a number for her?"

There was a silence on the line before Pete spoke up again.

"Myka...Helena has been dead five years now..."

**A/n: for those of you getting worried, just keep reading. And commenting. I promise it'll get better. **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/n: ok so I'm really curious to hear all your theories on where this story is going and what you think is going on here so please drop me your comments. I'm both excited and nervous about how the story is developing. Hope it's well received.**

"Pete come on don't be an idiot. Just give me her number."

"Myka, please. Listen to me."

"Pete I'm not joking. I was with Helena just lastnight. Do you have her number or not?"

"No Myka I don't."

"Well fine then. You could have just said so. Jeez!" with that Myka hung up the phone, angry at Pete for being such a douche.

It was ok if she didn't call Helena, the girl would be coming over soon enough to spend the day with her in any case, Myka thought. She shuffled across to the bathroom to brush her teeth and then made her way to the kitchen to get some coffee going.

As she was just settling down with her cup of coffee and the latest issue of National Geographic, she heard a brisk rapping on the front door to the store, as if the person on the other side was eager to get in. She ignored it. Whoever it was would just have to wait till the store was open.

The rapping continued followed by Pete shouting at the door.

"Myka!"

"Come on open up!"

"Pete?" She called after him, working her way from the kitchen, through the back of the store till she reached the front door.

"Pete what are you doing here?" she asked, turning the latch and letting him through the door.

"Myka what's going on? Are you okay?"

"Yes Pete I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Pete stalled for a minute, considering whether he should bring up Myka's earlier phone call or not. If Myka had been dreaming and happened to sleep-call him and then completely forgot about it upon waking up then it would make no sense reminding her of it and upsetting her.

" Oh nothing, you know. Just making sure my best pal is doing good."

"Huh. You're being all weird and strange this morning. Come on back to the kitchen, I'll make you some pancakes."

He followed her to the back of the store and then into the kitchen, still on alert for any sign that she remembered the call. He sat at the small kitchen table while Myka busied herself making his pancakes.

She returned to the table after a short bit with a stack of pancakes and a tall glass of orange juice, setting both in front the perpetually hungry boy. He poured an obscene amount of syrup over the stack before stuffing his mouth with a forkful.

"Wfr yrfprns frfay?" he asked, looking at her expectantly.

"Good God Pete, can't you ever chew and swallow, THEN talk? My plans for today are the same as every Saturday. Watch the store."

He gulped a mouthful of orange juice before speaking this time.

"Ok cool. Maybe I'll hang around a bit. Help you with your inventory or shelving or whatever there is to do at a book store."

"Ok now I know something's up. You usually make it your business to steer clear of me every Saturday just to avoid being roped in to doing bookstore duties."

"Oh come on. I don't avoid you. When have I ever avoided you Mykes? Besides, I feel like we haven't hung out in a long time. Can't a guy spend a little quality time with his best friend?" He needed to be sure she was ok after the call this morning. The last thing Myka needed was a relapse.

"Ok fine, but you can't stick around too long though. Helena's coming over to spend the day with me. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Pete almost choked on the mouthful of pancakes he was currently working on. He swallowed the large bolus and chugged his orange juice, trying to think of the best way to approach this.

"Myka... So you weren't asleep when you called me this morning?"

"No Pete. Why would I call you in my sleep? You really ticked me off this morning by the way. That isn't something to joke about."

"Myka, listen to me. I wasn't joking. I was very serious about what I said this morning." Pete offered, cautiously reaching across the table to take Myka's hand.

"Pete no!" Myka exclaimed, pulling her hand away from Pete's and standing up. "You're not making sense. She..she found you. You found her! And then you brought us back together. LAST FRIDAY! Come on Pete, even I know your memory is better than that."

"Myka, Myka. I didn't meet Helena. I didn't bring her to you. Mykes, the last time I saw Helena she was bleeding out in your arms on the front steps of junior school...five years ago.."

"No Pete!" Myka shouted. Getting angrier by the minute. "I know she's alive. I was with her just lastnight. I...uh...hugged her lastnight. Call Claudia. I know Claudia will confirm meeting her. Or Leena or Steve!"

"Myka? Leena and Steve from class? You've never spoken to them. Why would they have met Helena? And who's Claudia?"

"Pete stop being a jerk. They're our friends."

"Friends? Myka you've hardly spoken to anyone since Helena's death. Let alone made friends."

"STOP SAYING SHE'S DEAD!" Myka screamed, positively fuming now.

"What is all this shouting about?" Myka's mom questioned, coming down the stairs.

"Mrs. B, I think you should call Myka's doctor. She might be having another relapse." Pete suggested.

"Doctor?! What doctor? And what kind of relapse?"

"Doctor Calder, honey. You see her every week. I'll just give her a call." Mrs. Bering reached for the kitchen phone but Myka snapped it out of her hands, startling the woman.

"No! The last time I saw Dr. Calder was right after Helena was shot. And that was psychiatric evaluation that all of us had to sit through. All of Helena's friends. Even you Pete!" she argued, poking Pete aggressively on his chest.

"Yes Myka, we all saw her back then, but you never got the all clear. You've been in her care ever since." Pete explained, subtly signaling to Mrs. Bering to make the call to Dr. Calder.

"Myka, don't you remember? When Helena died, you went a little loco. Doctor Calder took good care of you. She got you the right meds, got you to talk about what you were feeling; she brought you back to the Myka we know. And she's kept you sane with the meds and sessions all this time. Let her help you now."

"No Pete. No! I know I'm not crazy. Helena was with me lastnight. Please believe me, Pete." Myka pleaded, tears burning angry tracks down her face. She crumpled to the floor, sobbing furiously.

Pete slid down next to her and placed an arm around her shoulder, drawing her in close.

"Shhh. It'll be okay, Mykes."

They remained like that on the floor until Dr. Calder came through the door.

"Myka dear, how are we today?"

"Mom you called her?! MOM WHY? I DON'T NEED A PSYCHIATRIST! I'M FINE!" Myka was angry again. She turned to look each of them in their eyes, looking for some sign that they didn't think she was crazy.

"Please!" she begged. "Why won't you believe me?!" her body was shaking violently.

"No! No! No!" a strangled cry escaped her. Dr. Calder reached for her, injecting a sedative into her arm to calm her down a bit. Within minutes Myka felt her body going heavy. Her eyelids felt like they were weighed down by a ton of bricks and her tongue became leaden, slurring her speech. Before she could properly form any words, she crumpled to the floor, out like a light, sinking into a fitful dream.

_She was back in the halls of junior high. Walking away from her locker, headed towards the exit. She passed near the girls' bathroom and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror showing through the open door. She was back in her twelve year old body. She looked up at the clock near the stairs. It was almost time for the school bell to ring, heralding the end of the day. What caught her eye was the date on the calendar next to the clock. It was saying April 15th 2003. The day Helena was shot. If Myka's memory served her right, within the next 10 minutes her best friend would be lying in a pool of her own blood on the front steps. She needed to find Helena. She couldn't save her in real life, but maybe she could in this dream._

_Helena had walked out ahead of her that day. So all she needed was to stall the girl so that when the shooters came driving by they wouldn't see her. At that moment Helena came bounding down the stairs, long black hair flowing behind her. _

_"Helena!" Myka called out to her, surprised at her own child-like voice. _

_"Oh hello darling, I'm feeling for an icecream. Let's go to the parlour around the corner shall we?"_

_"How about we go back out to the field and watch the track runners?" _

_"Nonsense darling, since when are you into track and field? Let's go get icecream!" Helena insisted, tugging Myka towards the exit. _

_"No Helena, I'm not really up for icecream. Let's stay in here a bit more." Myka pleaded. _

_"Myka what's gotten into you? Come on. There's no need for us to dilly dally in school longer than absolutely necessary."_

_With that, Helena moved through the exit, pulling a reluctant Myka along. Everything seemed to slow to a crawl in that instant. _

_Myka trying to pull Helena back inside. _

_Pete running up the steps to meet them. _

_The loud bang of the gun being fired. _

_Pete lurching forward with the force of the bullet striking him in the back. _

_"NOOOOOO!" Myka screamed, everything moving too fast now. _

_Pete crumpling to the ground, students scampering away, a teacher running towards them, Helena holding on to an inconsolable Myka. It was all happening too fast for Myka. Everything went dark as she collapsed in Helena's arms. _

Myka awoke with a start, jerking up to a sitting position on her bed. The sudden action threw the blanket off her, revealing a very naked Helena with her head between Myka's legs.

"Did you just doze off on me there, darling?" Helena smirked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

**A/n: alrighty, there you have it. I'm super excited to hear all your conspiracy theories so be sure to comment!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Oh my God! Helena! You're ok!" Myka squealed, pulling Helena forward to kiss her; she could taste herself on the girl's lips.

Helena kissed her back then pulled away, "Well I'm a little bummed that you decided to snooze there while I was...you know... But generally, yes, I'm okay love. Why? Did you have a bad dream?"

There was something about the way Helena spoke that sounded different, but Myka couldn't quite put her finger on it so she dismissed it.

"I think I just had like the worst possible nightmare ever. Bad enough to scare me off sleep for a while."

"Oh poor baby, how about I shift your attention to more...pleasant things?" Helena suggest with that wolf-ish grin.

With that, she pressed Myka back onto the bed and stretched out over her, covering Myka's body with her own. Her lips came down on Myka's; gently at first, then more forceful as the kiss deepened.

Myka's senses were in overdrive. She wasn't sure how she went from making plans for Helena to spend the day with her at the store to now having Helena ravaging her in her room; but she definitely wasn't complaining one bit.

Her thoughts scattered as Helena's lips circled around her left nipple, causing her hips to involuntarily jerk upwards, seeking more contact. She could feel Helena smile against her as the girl's hand came up to thumb the other nipple. Myka savoured the feeling. Never one for dating much, she had never been intimate with anyone.

Helena's lips moved further south, leaving a burning wet trail in its wake. Upon reaching her destination she reached down to place kisses on Myka's inner thigh, feeling the girl trembling beneath her. She pulled at the thighs, opening Myka's legs to give her better access to the throbbing centre awaiting her. She leaned in, spreading Myka's lips and blowing on her gently. The cool air caused a shudder to ripple through Myka's body. She needed Helena there. Now. Her hips jerked again at the same instant Helena pressed forward, swiping her tongue against the entire length before latching on to the swollen clit. Myka almost screamed at the contact, pressing back into the pillow and bunching the sheets in her fists. Helena's tongue worked its magic against her clit and when she could take it no more, her body arched off the bed with only one name on her lips as a violent orgasm ripped through her being.

"Helena..."

"Mmmmmmm." Helena moaned satisfactorily against her centre before giving it one last swipe of her tongue and making her way back up Myka's lean body.

"Now that's more like it baby." Helena teased, leaning in to kiss Myka tenderly.

Myka felt like she was in heaven. Life was back the way it was supposed to be. They both lay there in each others arms, feeling each others heartbeats and unconsciously synchronizing their breathing. It was a long while before Helena finally broke the silence.

"Mykes, I gotta go in a bit ok? Mom wants me to go shipping with her today."

There it was again. Something about the way Helena spoke was very different from the last time they had talked. It almost slipped Myka, but she caught on soon enough.

"Wait your mom is here?"

"Well ofcourse dear. Where d'you expect her to be?"

"I thought they had remained back in England?"

"Remained? Mykes, they haven't visited England since last year. What are you talking about?"

"Wait what? I thought you alone came back?"

"Myka what are you talking about? I didn't go anywhere!"

"What about your uncle you're staying with?"

"Myka why on earth would I be staying with my uncle when both my parents are here. Have always been."

It was then it hit Myka like a ton of bricks. She knew what was wrong with Helena's speech. Her accent was barely there. She was sounding more American than British, like if she hadn't been gone these past five years. Myka's mind was reeling. If Helena didn't go back to England, it meant that Helena was never entered into the witness protection program. Which meant that Helena had never been shot. Which meant...

"I think I'm gonna be sick." was the last thing Myka said before darting towards the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach in the toilet bowl. Helena was off the bed and at her side in seconds.

"Babe what's wrong?"

Myka was shaking. Her hand came up to flush the toilet as she lifted her head off the seat.

"Oh god, babe your nose, it's bleeding." Helena grabbed some tissue and placed it in Myka's hand, pulling the girl back to lean against her.

"Helena I have to go."

Myka made a move to get up, but slumped back down, her body unable to support itself just yet.

"No honey, I think you should rest. I'll stay with you. I'll just call mom and tell her I can't make it."

"No Helena. There's something I have to do. Please go ahead and meet your mom. I really need to do this. I'll be fine."

With that she tried to stand up again, this time succeeding and sluggishly making her way back to the bed. She sat down for a minute, hoping she could pull herself together. She looked around her room, it looked the same except for all the pictures of her and Helena in different stages of growing up. That was most definitely different.

She needed to get moving. She stood up and started putting on her clothes mechanically, her mind still trying to wrap itself around what was going on. When the last of her clothing was finally on, she muttered an apology to Helena, sealed it with a kiss, and bolted out the door. Without so much as a word to her parents, she jumped in the car and drove to her destination. Upon arriving, she killed the engine and walked up the pathway to the doorstep. She hesitated a bit before lifting her hand to knock.

The door opened to reveal Mrs. Jane Lattimer, Pete's mom.

"Myka dear! It's been such a long time since you've stopped by! Come in, honey."

Myka stepped inside, and took in her surroundings.

""I'll just go put the kettle on dear."

As Mrs. Lattimer disappeared into the kitchen, Myka looked around the familiar living room, her mind and heart not ready to accept what everything was screaming at her; the unkept Pete cave by the lake, the photos of Pete on the mantle and on the walls, all seeming to stop at age 12, the sad empty look in Mrs. Lattimer's eyes. Her attention fell on an old box on the table. Sitting at the top of the items in the box was an old news paper article. Myka took it out and read the headline.

"LOCAL BOY KILLED IN DRIVEBY SHOOTING AT SCHOOL"

There it was. The confirmation she was avoiding. She dropped the article and took off running out the door and towards the lake. She tripped on a fallen branch in the yard, passing out before her head hit the ground with a soft thud.

_She was back in junior school again. Being pulled through the exit by Helena. The girl insisting on going for icecream._

_Not this time, Myka thought. This time she wasn't going to let them get hurt. She heard the screech of the tyres coming round the corner and spun around. She grabbed Pete's hand and shoved him towards Helena, both kids toppling to the ground as the shot rang out. The last thing she felt was a sharp pain as her world went blank and she fell to the floor, unconscious._


	15. Chapter 15

It was morning again and Myka woke with a start. Her head ripped with a freakishly painful headache and she felt something warm and sticky trickling slowly down her face. She reached up to touch the fluid, her fingers coming away wet with blood. She closed her eyes for a long moment before opening them again. She wasn't sure what day or time it was or even what was her situation. She tried to remember the details of her dream. She had pushed both Helena and Pete down on the steps to save them from being hit by the bullet but she distinctly remembered the searing pain ripping through the right side of her body. She needed to lift the blanket off her body to take a quick inventory and make sure all the parts were in order. She was becoming increasingly terrified of what she might discover below. She slowly peeled the blanket off and looked down. A blood-curdling scream erupted from her bringing her parents rushing into the room.

"Honey what's wrong? Oh my God, your nose! It's bleeding!" her mom cried.

"Mom! Dad! What happened? Where's my leg?!"

"Honey. Don't you remember?" her mother began.

"The shooting at school, sweetheart. You took that bullet to save your two best friends." her dad continued.

"But...but, why didn't they just take the bullet out? Why'd they have to take my entire leg?"

"Sweetheart, it got infected, remember? The toxins were threatening to spread to your entire body. We had no other choice." Myka's mother replied, now wiping the blood off Myka's face.

Myka couldn't help the sobs escaping her. Why wasn't anything going right? First she lost Helena, then she lost Pete, now she lost her leg. For how long was this going to continue? Was she destined to spend everyday in a different reality based on whatever childhood choice she made in her dreams? This would not do. She needed to figure something out.

"Come on dear, let me help you into the bathroom to get ready for school."

Myka remained silent but allowed her mother to take her to the bathroom and get her cleaned up. There was a built in bench in the shower for her to sit on and all the shower taps were a foot lower than standard so she could reach them from her seated position.

When she was finished her mother helped her towel off and brought her back into the bedroom. It was then she noticed the prosthetic leg propped against the wall near her closet.

"Whoa, I wear that?"

"What's wrong with you today honey? You're talking like you're doing this for the first time."

"Nothing mom. Can you help me put it on?"

Her mother looked at her quizzically. In the five years Myka had been wearing the leg, she had never once asked for assistance, not even in those first few weeks when she was still getting used to it. And that was when she was 12.

After helping Myka affix the leg to her stump, her mother headed back to the kitchen, leaving Myka to finish getting dressed. Before long, she came down the stairs cautiously.

"Come have some breakfast before you head out dear." her mother offered.

"Um, can I have the car keys dad?" she asked turning to her father.

He almost choked on his coffee. "What for? You haven't driven a single day in your life! What's gotten into you Myka?"

At that, Pete came striding through from the back of the store.

"Morning Mr. B, Mrs. B. Mykes, you ready?"

"Pete!" she threw her arms around the boy, knocking the wind out of him.

"Whooaaa, I'm happy to see you too Mykes, now let's get going." he grabbed up her bag from the floor, said his goodbyes and led her out of the kitchen.

She was happy to see Pete. Now she just needed to make sure Helena was fine and maybe she could live like this, sans leg.

When they pulled up in the school parking lot Myka was already surveying the area for her brown-eyed girl. What she didn't expect to see was said girl leaning against a sporty red car in a heated lip-lock with some jock-looking guy.

"Woo wooooo!" Pete hollered at the kissing couple as he pulled into the empty spot beside the red car.

Myka kept staring in silent shock. She berated herself silently for expecting anything different. Helena was a charming, brilliant, beautiful girl; it was only obvious that she would have first pickings of the guys at school. As the young lovers broke apart, the jock turned around to face the new arrivals, shocking Myka further into stupidity. Kurt Smoller. Helena was kissing Kurt Smoller. The girl she was in love with was kissing the one boy she ever had a crush on. Could her day possibly get any worse?

As her day progressed, Myka became increasingly irritated. Sure she had all her friends back in her life, but it wasn't the same. She was no longer the one who the others turned to for support and guidance, instead, she often found that they were the ones giving her support. She felt...dependent. There was only one thing that could make her feel in charge again. Fencing.

After school she made her way to the gym, ready to blow off some steam in a duel. The fencing instructor looked surprised and confused as she approached him, laying her request.

"I'm sorry...who are you?" the instructor asked.

"It's me! Myka? Myka Bering? I've been training here for the past two years!"

"Not with that leg you've not." he responded condescendingly, gesturing to her prosthetic leg.

Myka opened her mouth to protest but decided against it, straightening the back pack on her shoulders and making an about turn to head out the door.

The day had definitely gotten worse. She made her way down to the field and sat on the bleachers, looking off in distance to where Pete was practicing football. She needed to figure a way out of this; find a way to return her to her universe and not these skewed, warped parallel perceptions. She tried to think back to anything that might have triggered these effects. She mentally traced back everything she had done in the days leading up to her first life-altering dream.

There had been the week of pining over Helena. Everything had been normal then. The nights were normal, her dreams regular and dream-like, her mornings carrying that continuous flow from the day before; everything and everyone in their rightful place and proper existence. Then there was Friday night when she went looking for Helena. She hadn't even crossed the threshold into the house before running off to the museum. Once there she had talked to Helena, they had kissed, then they had left. Then went back to Helena's house where her visit was cut short by her mother's phonecall. That evening she had gone home, read, and fallen asleep - the same thing she did every night. She needed to be more thorough in her recall. She tried to zone her mind in on that particular evening, at the museum. She hadn't touched anything, had she? Then it all came back to her... She had touched something while waiting for Helena...a document. she strained her memory trying to remember what it said but nothing came to her. She needed to visit the museum again. She looked down at her watch. It was almost 4:20pm; the museum closed at 5. She needed to go there now but Pete was in practice till 5:30. She was going to have to take the bus. With that she got up and hurried as best as she could to exit the school but a voice interrupted her halfway down the hallway, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Mykaaaa," the soft, musical purr of Helena's voice reached her ears. She whirled around to face the girl who was now standing directly behind her.

"Where are you off to in such a rush dear? Are you cross with me? You barely spoke to me this morning."

"I'm sorry Helena, I need to get to the museum before it closes. I'm in a rush to catch the 4:30 bus. We'll talk another time ok?"

"What in the hell Myka?! The bus? When have you ever taken the bus? I'd like to think that we've been better friends than that to you. Come on darling, I'll drive you there."

"It's ok Helena. I can manage on my own."

"Nonsense Myka. I'll have none of it." she grabbed Myka's arm and tugged her towards the exit.

When they got to the museum, Myka all but ran up the stairs to the entrance, stumbling a few times and being caught by Helena's ever-present supportive hands. She pushed the call button for the elevator and waited impatiently for it to arrive, not noticing Helena studying her curiously.

When the elevator arrived they both climbed in and Myka selected the 4th floor.

"Fourth floor?! My grand-uncle's office is on that floor!"

Myka knew this but made no mention of it to Helena, choosing to remain silent as she collected her thoughts. She had no idea what she was going to do if she managed to locate the document, but she would cross that bridge when she got there.

**A/n: I'm sorry this chapter ended so abruptly, but I'm sneakily writing this at work, don't wanna risk getting caught! Anyways, hope you enjoy and you're as psyched as I am for Double Murray Monday tonight on Syfy :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/n: just a really quick short update before we all go batshit crazy with JaimeMurrayFever. This was especially requested by I Wear The Crown. Hope this doesn't (or maybe does) leave you thirsting for even more. Lol**

**Happy defiance and warehouse 13-ing peeps. **

As the elevator dinged open, Myka hopped off hurriedly and made for the section where she had kissed Helena what seemed like ages ago. She got to the shelf she had been standing near and looked at the items on it. There was an assortment of neatly labeled artifacts laying there but nothing looked like the document she had touched.

"No no no. It has to be here. Somewhere. I know it." she ranted, looking like a madwoman.

"What are you talking about, Myka?" Helena inquired, a confused look on her face.

"The document. It was old and yellowing and I touched it the last time I was here!" Myka cried, positively livid now.

"Ok Myka calm down. I'll just ask my grand-uncle if he can help us ok?"

With that, Helena made for the curator's office, worried for her friend's sanity. She returned a short while later to find Myka searching through a stack of old documents in a section labelled "unprocessed"

"Miss? I wouldn't touch those if I were you. Please move away from the documents." Caturanga expressed, quickly moving to Myka's side.

She looked at him with a puzzled expression but didn't relinquish her hold on the document in her hand. She had yet to find what she was looking for and she was not giving up till she did. Caturanga reached across and gently took the document from her with what seemed like a purple latex napkin. She reluctantly released it to him.

"My dear, do you mind explaining to me why you're ruffling through these genuine specimens of some very famous literary works?"

"I'm looking for something. A document."

"And what Document might that be?"

Myka looked at him for a minute, debating whether he could be trusted with her theory on what was going on. She concluded that if there was one person who might actually be able to help her out of her current predicament, it was him.

She started detailing for him how she had visited him looking for Helena, her visit to the museum, touching the document, and the chain of events it triggered off.

"So we've met before?" he questioned.

"Uh huh." Myka responded.

"Your hypothesis is that by touching the document, your dreams started taking you back to your childhood. And whatever little changes you made to the events in the dreams, had drastic effects on the outcome when you woke up?"

"Pretty much."

"Curious. Curious indeed."

Helena was still standing silently next to them, not wanting to interrupt the cryptic conversation they were having.

"Helena dear, there is a pot sitting in the far right corner of my bookshelf. Would you be so kind as to bring it to me?"

With an affirmative nod, Helena hurried to the office, returning quickly with the requested pot.

"I have been noticing these...energy signatures...around some of the objects we've collected. I have not been able to truly decipher the effect of these...that is...until now. I started working on a formula to neutralize the 'buzz', so to speak, until I could properly study what they could do. If my formula is correct, once the artifact in question is immersed in it, the effects should immediately dissipate."

"Okay, but how do we know which document it was? I never even got the name off it."

"My dear, are you familiar with the name Edward Norton Lorenz?"

Myka shook her head no but Helena spoke up.

"Lorenz, wasn't he the one who coined the term butterfly effect? He postulated that a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system could result in large differences to a later state. The mere fluttering of a butterfly's wings in one place could have drastic effects or outcomes in another place. Ergo, the butterfly effect."

"Precisely!" Caturanga chimed.

"We have exactly one artifact from Mr. Lorenz in our possession. His 1972 original hand written article on Predictability." he continued, reaching around to carefully slide the document from the stack using the purple latex napkin.

"Yes! That's it!" Myka squealed, recognizing the handsome script that had attracted her to it in the first place.

"Righty-ho then. Helena? If you would just place the pot on the floor? Lovely. Now girls, there might be a spark, so cover your eyes." he instructed before plopping the manuscript into the pot of goo.

Myka missed the sparks as she collapsed on the floor, completely unconscious.

_This time she wasn't in school. She was at home, sneaking down the stairs. She looked down at herself. She was in her 12 year old body again. She looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. Dread settled in her as she realized where the dream had taken her back. She was back to the night when she and Helena had met up in the park. The night that started all of this. _


	17. Chapter 17

This meant that Caturanga's goo had not worked, but had somehow altered the effects. She remained motionless on the stairs as her mind reeled, trying to recount the events of that night. She had left home and walked the short distance to the park where Helena had been waiting for her. There they had both sat on the swings and chatted before Helena decided to get off her swing to push Myka's. Shortly after that they had heard the noises coming from the bushes.

As Myka stood on the staircase, she knew she had to do something. She had to somehow change this night. If she could somehow stop the murderer then he would never be able to terrorize Helena's family or attempt taking her life. As she continued down the stairs, she nodded to herself, accepting what she had to do.

Before heading out the door, she reached around the counter and grabbed her father's letter opener, carefully holding it with her sleeve to avoid leaving her prints on it. She stole out the door and walked briskly to the park, all the way feverishly wiping the letter opener on her sweater to remove any previous prints from it.

As she spotted Helena on the swing, she tucked the sharp metal into her jeans and smoothed her sweater over it. She allowed everything to play out as it was supposed to, trying to remain calm and swallow her nervousness. When the noise from the bushes came though, she convinced Helena to remain on the swings while she went to investigate.

Myka's little 12 year old body was positively trembling. The enormity of what she was about to do did not escape her conscience but she fought to push it out of her mind. All it would take was one calculated stab of the letter opener to the side of the murderer's neck to pierce the jugular and render him dead before anyone could reach to help him. She knew that this was wrong, but she could think of no other way to curtail the sure domino effect of catastrophic events that would ensue if she didn't. So she steeled herself and moved forward. What she saw before her as she neared the opening stopped her in her tracks. Just as Helena had described, this murderer was repeatedly attacking the lifeless body below him with what looked like a butcher's knife. Myka gulped. She had one shot at this. If she messed up, that knife would find purchase in her small body next. She slowly crept around the clearing, staying hidden in the shadows of the trees. When she reached the right spot, she started moving forward, careful of her step, not wanting to alert this maniac of her presence. As she neared him, she took position and aimed; pure adrenaline coursing through her veins. With one smooth movement, she plunged the sharp metal deep into the man's neck, jumping back as his blood started spurting out. He turned around and stared at her in disbelief. She didn't wait to watch him crumple to the ground but took off running towards the swings. She slowed a little to grab Helena's hand and continued her sprint down the road, practically dragging the other girl behind her. She slowed again to open the front door before silently sneaking up the stairs, Helena still in tow. She shut the door behind them and collapsed on the floor; the adrenaline finally leaving her body.

"Myka? What's going on? What was that all about?" Helena questioned.

"It's nothing Helena. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Lets just go to bed. I'm tired." Myka silenced any further inquiry from her friend by stripping off her clothes, pulling on her pjs and jumping into bed. Helena watched her for a minute before doing the same. Whatever it was Myka was hiding would have to wait till the morning.

Myka awoke with a start and a stream of blood flowing from her nose. He head was pounding. The headaches were getting progressively worse. She looked down at herself. She was back in her 17 year old body. Once again dread settled in the pit of her stomach as she wondered what this altered reality would bring her. She made her way to the bathroom to clean up and dress for school. So far everything seemed normal. She had all her body parts, her room seemed normal and upon checking her phone she saw recent calls from both Pete and Helena. So far things were okay. She skipped down the stairs to the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her mother, delighted that the day was going good so far. Grabbing an apple from the basket and her backpack off the floor, she made to exit through the front of the store. Pete and Claudia were waiting in a car for her out front. She was happy to be back in a timeline where everything seemed to be right again.

When they got to school Claudia hopped out the car and Myka was about to follow suit but Pete held her back.

"Are we on for today?"

"On for what?"

"Myka, it's Friday." He looked at her expectantly.

"Okaaaay. What's does 'it's Friday' mean, Pete?"

"Means we go visit your dad Mykes. Remember? Every other Friday we leave at lunch to go visit him?"

"Pete what are you talking about? Where is my dad?"

Myka was trembling now. What had this alternate universe done to her father?

"Myka... What's wrong with you today? Your dad's in jail...been there for the past five years...since the thing in the park..."

Myka fainted.


	18. Chapter 18

The first thing that invaded Myka's senses as she came to was that familiar scent of warm vanilla and cocoa butter followed by the press of soft lips against her own. Her eyes popped open in shock but she visibly relaxed as she realized who those lips belonged to. She reached up and tangled her hand in smooth straight locks, drawing the head down further, deepening the kiss. She felt the tingle of a tongue running along her lower lip and gasped, allowing that tongue full entry into her mouth. Her own tongue snaked out, dueling and dancing with the other. The figure looming over her eventually pulled away and Myka opened her eyes only to lose herself in those deep dark orbs there.

"Are you alright babe? You gave us quite the scare there." Helena questioned softly, concern written all over her face.

"Helena... yeah... I'm fine" Myka replied, still mesmerized by those eyes.

When Pete started talking though, everything came crashing back down on Myka.

Her father was in prison.

Something about what she did that night landed her father in jail.

She needed to find out everything about what happened after that night at the park.

She jerked up to a sitting position and demanded answers from Helena and Pete.

"Helena, Pete, I need to know. What happened? Why is my dad in jail?"

Both her friends looked at each other before looking at Myka again, neither of them sure what to say.

"I know this might sound weird, but I can't remember anything. Please. Tell me what happened." Myka prompted.

"Mykes," Pete began, "your dad's letter opener. It was found in one of the dead guy's neck."

"H-how? How did they know it was my dad's letter opener?"

"Myka, your mother had had it engraved for him as a surprise that same week. It had his full name on it." Helena explained.

Myka's hand came up to cover the shocked gasp that escaped her lips. She hadn't known about the engraving. She had incriminated her father in a crime she had committed. Her mind was reeling at top speed. Question after question popping up.

"But wait, anyone could have taken that letter opener from the counter. What motive was established for the killing? Did dad just supposedly kill some random stranger off the street? And what about the other dead guy?"

"The guy your dad was accused of killing was the same guy who was suspected to have torched the bookstore last year. So they said that was plenty motive for your dad to want to get rid of him. The other guy they suspected might have been an accomplice of the torch guy."

"So wait, you're saying my dad is in jail for killing two guys?"

She looked at both her friends, seeking confirmation. Both their heads nodded in unison. Myka slumped to her knees on the coarse parking lot, Her shoulders shaking violently with quiet sobs. Desperation and depression consuming her.

"Why can't things just be normal? Why does someone always have to suffer?! WHY ME?!" She cried out, not caring who heard her. In any case this reality would change with her next dream so why bother worrying about who saw her outburst?

Helena and Pete were speechless. Neither of them knew what Myka was talking about but they could see that she clearly was in a lot of pain so they both settled down on the floor, flanking her sides. Helena pulled her into an embrace while Pete rubbed comforting circles on her back.

"Myka, baby, please. Tell us what's going on. Please darling. I hate seeing you like this. Please help us help you."

Myka couldn't speak. She held on to Helena's sleeve even tighter, soaking it with hot tears. She felt broken. Like nothing would ever be right again. No matter what, her world would never be stable and normal again.

"Baby please, talk to me." Helena begged but Myka was inconsolable.

They remained like that until finally Myka's sobbing subsided. She snuggled deeper into Helena's side, trying to hide away from the world. As her tears slowed, her mind started to clear. She couldn't give up hope. She couldn't just accept this the way it was and leave her father to rot in prison for a crime he didn't commit. She had to find a way out of this. She pulled out of Helena's embrace and looked into her eyes, finally breaking the silence.

"I need to see your grand-uncle Caturanga."


	19. Chapter 19

"How do you know Caturanga, Myka? I've never even talked about him." Helena questioned.

"Helena, I can't explain all that right now. I just need to see him. Please?"

"Righty-ho then. Come on, lets get you up."

With that, Helena pulled Myka up to her feet before turning to Pete who had moved off a bit to give the girls some space.

"Peter, I'm afraid I don't have my car here today. Would you mind driving us to the museum?"

"Um sure, no problem. Hop in."

Pete jumped in the driver's seat while Helena and Myka climbed into the back seat. Their ride to the museum was passed in silence. Myka lost in her own thoughts and both Pete and Helena still unsure of what to say.

Myka wasn't sure what had happened to make the dream change but she had a feeling it had something to do with the solution into which Caturanga had dropped the artifact. He had said it was the first time he was testing the solution so maybe something was wrong with it. She had to meet him and find out.

When they got to the museum Myka hurried out of the car before Pete could shift the gear into park, and took off running towards the entrance, leaving Pete and Helena to follow in her wake. When they finally got to the elevator, the lift was already stopped at 4, signaling their friend's arrival on that floor. Helena hit the call button and they both impatiently waited for it to return to the ground floor.

Myka burst through the elevator doors and sprinted towards Caturanga's office, her sneakers screeching on the tile floors as she finally halted in front his door. With a shaky hand she knocked lightly on the solid wood. She could hear some shuffling of papers coming from inside before the door opened, revealing Caturanga's kind face.

"Oh hello. How might I be of assistance to you?" He chirped.

Before Myka could answer the elevator dinged and Pete and Helena were at her side. She was grateful for their support, but couldn't afford to be distracted by them right now.

"Helena dear, how good to see you! Is this a friend of yours?" Caturanga asked of his grand niece.

Before Helena could answer, Myka cut her off, not caring to waste time on pleasantries.

"Mr. Caturanga, I need to talk to you. I need help with an artifact."

"Oh an artifact! Well you've come to the right place. Now. What artifact can I help you with dear? Is it for a school project?"

Myka hesitated, not sure how to proceed. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before beginning. She had to tread carefully since she wasn't sure how far along in this universe he was with his discoveries regarding the artifacts.

"Um, uh, do you think artifacts can affect people? Like affect their lives?"

Caturanga regarded her with a surprised expression before addressing her.

"You mean inanimate objects like these actually having an impact on the life of the person who interacts with it?"

"Yes, exactly that."

"Mykes, what are you talking about? Objects can't affect people. Unless maybe you smack them over the head with it." Pete joked.

Myka glared at him silencing any further snark.

"Remarkable, perhaps you would like to join me in my office. I would truly like to hear more on your theory." Caturanga invited.

With that, all three of them entered the tiny office and seated themselves on the antique sofa.

"So, tell me more." He encouraged Myka.

"Mr. Caturanga, I know this might sound a bit crazy, but please hear me out. I've been here before, in another reality. I touched a document by Edward Norton Lorenz and it triggered a sort of butterfly effect on my life. Every time I go to sleep or sometimes when I pass out, I dream something from my childhood, and how ever I react in the dream, affects the outcome in reality. This has happened three times with the same dream so far and the last time it was with another dream. Before that last dream, I came here to meet you and you had some kind of a solution in a pot. You dunked the article into the solution and the dream I had changed. Your solution was supposed to break the effects of the artifact. But it was still in its testing phase so you hadn't been sure what effect it would have." She paused for a breath before continuing. "Please tell me you believe me and you know what I'm talking about."

Caturanga was silent, looking at each of the three faces in front of him.

"Well that's quite a story you have there dear. I have actually been picking up energy signals from the authentic pieces we have here and I have also been working on this solution you speak of. But I'm afraid we don't have any artifacts previously owned by Edward Norton Lorenz."

**a/n: **sorry I've been taking so long with this. Please bear with me. And keep commenting! Your comments always encourage me to write more :)


	20. Chapter 20

**A/n: Hello my lovely people (whoever is still with this story). Very sorry about taking forever to update. My muse has abandoned me. So this update is just me; no muse :(**

**Sorry if it sucks! And thanks for sticking around and not abandoning me as well!**

"Wait, what?" Myka asked in shock.

"There is nothing previously owned by Edward Norton Lorenz here, my dear." Caturanga repeated.

"No no no no no. It has to be here somewhere. I saw it. I _touched_ it!"

"Myka, I've been running this place for over twenty years. I am acutely aware of every single thing that passes through here. I assure you, what you are looking for is not here."

Myka felt like the walls were closing in on her. She needed to get away from this tiny office fast. She hurried out the door, tears streaking an angry path down her cheeks. She made it as far as the elevator before crumpling to the floor and burying her face in her hands. Helena was beside her almost immediately, trying to coax her into talking.

"Babe. Talk to me. What's all this about? Did you have another one of your dreams lastnight?"

Myka looked up at her; disbelief written across her face.

"No Helena! It wasn't a dream, for God's sake. This is real dammit! It's my life! I need to find a way to fix this!"

"Ok ok. Calm down baby. We'll figure something out...this artifact, what was it exactly?"

Myka thought for a minute, trying to remember exactly what Caturanga has told her in the previous "reality".

"It was, uh, an article on the Butterfly Effect...1972. His original article on predictability. That's what it was that I touched."

"Alright, so if it's not here in the museum then it must be out there _somewhere_. I mean we know it exists right? So, why don't we go and find it?"

"Helena, how do we track down an article from 1972?"

"Myka, really, this is the 21st century. Technology has made it considerably difficult for anything to NOT be traceable. Come on. Let's go find us an artifact!"

With that, Helena stood up and pulled Myka to her feet, catching her by the waist and pulling her in for a quick kiss.

"Thank you, Helena."

Helena simply smiled and led Myka back to Caturanga's office.

Pete's head whipped up as Myka and Helena re-entered the office. He stood up immediately, concern written all over his face.

"Hey Mykes, you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah Pete. I was just a bit overwhelmed by everything going on. Needed to stop and catch my breath for a minute." Myka reassured him, returning to her spot on the sofa. Helena took up post at the arm of the sofa, right next to Myka, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Mr. Caturanga, I need to find this article." Myka stated matter-of-factly.

She paused before continuing.

"I believe if I can find this article, you can neutralize it with the solution you were working on and maybe things will go back to normal. But I need to find it first. Do you have any idea where I should start looking?"

"_We_. Where _WE _should start looking." Helena corrected her.

Myka placed a hand on the one resting on her shoulder and squeezed a little, thankful that atleast in this reality she had Helena by her side.

"Whoa, I'm not just gonna let the two of you go off on some zaney artifact hunt without me! We're doing this together!" Pete piped in.

Myka smiled at him. She didn't know what she would ever do without both Pete and Helena in her world.

"Very well. Come along then, we have some researching to do."

Caturanga led them back out of his office and towards the archive section.

"Lorenz was born in West Hartford, Connecticut. He studied Mathematics at both Dartmouth and Harvard. He studied Meteorology at MIT and then went on to serve as a professor there."

"Meteorology. Is that when he came up with the whole 'butterfly flapping its wings causing a hurricane' theory?" Pete questioned.

"Yes Peter, In the 1950s, Lorenz became skeptical of the appropriateness of the linear statistical models in Meteorology. His work on the topic formed the basis and foundation of the Chaos Theory. His description of the Butterfly Effect followed in 1969, and in 1972 he published the paper in question, on Predictability."

"Lorenz died of Cancer at the age of 90 in his Cambridge home. This article could either still be at that home, or at MIT, but I'm not too sure about that. Usually we keep a log of artifacts and their location so that we can always know when one becomes available for display in the museum. I believe the last location of that article might be documented somewhere here." Caturanga explained, scanning the shelves upon shelves of files with a weird coding system on them.

Myka, Helena and Pete looked on, not sure how they could be of assistance to the curator, so they just stood off at the side as he searched the shelves.

"Ah! Here we go. Edward Norton Lorenz." Caturanga exclaimed, pulling one of the huge files off the shelf and flipping through it, his half-moon glasses teetering precariously on the tip of his nose.

"Bollocks!" he cursed under his breath after a few minutes of absolute silence.

"Uncle?"

"I'm sorry dear. As I suspected, neither Cambridge nor MIT are listed as possible locations for the article. The last place to see it was an auction house in New York. The best thing would be to start there, see what information you can gather and move from there."

"New York Citaaaaaaaay! Here we come!" Pete chimed excitedly.

"Actually, I have a better idea." Helena offered, a conspiratorial look on her face.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/n I am soooo sorry for delaying this so much. I just haven't been feeling it lately. But I shall still forge on. Thank you for still sticking with this.**

Helena walked off to the side and hurriedly placed a call.

"Hello, Claudia. Are you busy?...great, can you come down to the museum?...yes, the one on main street...No, I'll fill you in when you get here... yes...yes...4th floor...ok, see you in a bit."

She hung up and turned to face the others, registering the confused look on all three faces.

"What?" she questioned.

"You called Claudia? She's like 15!" Pete exclaimed.

"Yes, 15 with the mind of a genius! Have you ever see this girl in action? She can out-hack _anyone_. We could really use her help here."

"Help in what way, Helena?" Myka asked a bit skeptically.

"Well, she can save us a trip to New York. Once the auction house has everything computerized, I'm hoping Claudia can gain remote access to their system and find the information we need."

"Aw maaaaan, I was really looking forward to hitting the Big Apple." Pete complained.

Myka punched him in the arm, "Think of how much time this will save us Pete."

"Righty-ho then," Helena drew their attention back to herself, "in the mean time let's do a little more research on this guy."

With that they set about combing through files and the internet for any information they could find on Edward Norton Lorenz.

Within 15 minutes the elevator ding announced Claudia's arrival. Helena quickly filled her in on the situation, with Myka there to answer Claudia's questions. At the end of their explanation, Claudia was dumbstruck.

"Whoa Mykes, your life has been mega whammied! Major shenanigans. And you've been dealing with this all alone! Damn. Time to get you back on track then." She whirled around and set up her laptop on Caturanga's desk, shifting around his clutter to make space for her gear.

The others continued their research while Claudia tried to hack into the Auction house's database. Before long, she was through their firewall and collecting the data she needed.

"Bingo! Got it, you guys!"

Everyone huddled around Claudia's laptop to get a look at the screen.

"It says here that the Complete Original Works of Edward Norton Lorenz was taken home by one 'John Smith'." Claudia filled them in.

"John Smith?" Myka asked.

"You know this guy, Mykes?" Pete questioned.

"John Smith is only like one of the most common name in America! There's pages upon pages of John Smith's in the telephone directory. We're never gonna find this guy!" Myka responded desperately.

"Have no fear, my fair lady," Claudia continued, "a little more faith in my capabilities please. A little further digging led me to Mr. Smith's contact information which further led me to an address. You may thank me now."

Myka hugged the girl tightly. She didn't know what she would do without the teen genius.

"Brilliant work Claudia. Where do we find this John Smith?"

"Well it's all the way in South Dakota, so I was thinking maybe we should try calling the guy first and see if he would loan it to us or probably allow the museum to purchase it?"

"Good idea," Caturanga spoke up, "perhaps I should do the calling? That way the gentleman won't think it's some kids on a prank call?"

"That would be perfect. Thank you again. All of you." Myka was so grateful to finally be able to share this burden and get the help she needed.

Caturanga moved to the vintage rotary dial phone on his desk and dialed the numbers Claudia had scribbled on a scrap of paper for him.

"Hello. A pleasant good evening to you. I'm trying to reach Mr. John Smith?"

The gruff voice on the other end of the line barked that there was nobody there by that name and hung up rudely.

Caturanga stared at the receiver in shock before returning it to its cradle.

"How rude!" he exclaimed.

"What did he say?"

"He said it was the wrong number and slammed the phone down!"

"That's not possible," Claudia defended, "the Auction house requires legit information before a person can be eligible to bid. Proper address and contact information. And ofcourse credit score. This doesn't make sense... May I try calling him?"

"Be my guest." Caturanga slid the phone towards her.

Claudia smirked at the dinosaur of a telephone infront of her before starting to dial.

After three rings, the phone was answered with an impatient, "What?"

"Listen mister," Claudia began, "I know you are Mr. John Smith and I know that you recently won some very valuable artifacts at a New York Auction House."

"Who are you? How did you get this number?"

"I also know where to find you so I would suggest that you cooperate with me. I just need to borrow something you got at that auction house."

"I'm not lending you anything. Now go away. And please, you can never find me."

With that, he slammed down the phone.

Claudia turned around and looked at the expectant faces of her friends.

She shook her head.

"This? Is war."


	22. Chapter 22

_**Hello all. I know that my updates for this story have been growing fewer and further apart. But please bear with me. It's all coming together now :) thank you for the continued support. As you would have noticed, whenever I have a bit of a block with this story, I get another story going to keep my mind busy. So, if you have any ideas/suggestions for one shots you'd like to see, lemme know :)**_

_**Hope you enjoy this chapter. **_

Claudia was typing furiously into her computer. The phonecall hadn't lasted long enough for her to get a proper trace on the number but she at least was able to narrow it down to a town in the state of South Dakota. She was currently hacking into the State's license and registration system to see if she could find any vehicle associated with that telephone number. As suspected, her searches came up empty. She racked her brain trying to figure out what to try next. She had to find this guy, Myka's sanity, and life, depended on it. She refused to give up.

Meanwhile, Myka and Pete were combing through files and files of information on Edward Norton Lorenz, hoping to find anything that would help Myka in her current state. Helena and Caturanga were in the older man's private lab at the facility tweaking the neutralizing solution and testing it on various artifacts hoping to achieve the desired effect. Helena was desperate. She would do anything for Myka and seeing her girlfriend going through this was almost too much to bear. She was determined to make this thing work so she could free her lover of this mess.

Myka's cellphone rang out, shattering the silence that had settled in the small room.  
She looked at the display before answering.

"Hey mom... I know, I'm sorry I didn't call... Yeah... sorry I missed dinner, I got carried away with some research for school... No I'm not at school, Helena's uncle let us stay at the museum after closing hours to go through the archives... Mom? Is it okay if I stay at Helena's tonight?... Yes...yes. Thanks mom, love you...bye."

Myka hung up and stared down at the books infront of her. She was terrified of falling asleep. She couldn't risk having her world change again; they were too close in this reality to getting some answers and freeing her from this madness. If she stayed at Helena's, at least the older girl could help with keeping her awake.

"Hey Pete?"

"Yeah, Mykes?" He replied, not looking up from the binder in his hands.

"Would you mind staying over at Helena's with me tonight?"

"Mykes, I'm flattered, but I really don't think now is a good time to be planning a ménage à trios." He teased.

"Pete! God no!" She launched her pencil at him.

"Ow! You could have poked my eye out with that thing."

"Pete I'm scared. If I fall asleep again, I'm afraid I'll wake up in yet another reality. That all this would have changed I need you and Helena to take turns to stand vigil with me and make sure I don't sleep. I don't think I can survive another one Pete." She sobbed, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Myka hey, I'm here okay? We'll get through this. And don't worry, I'll make sure those pretty green eyes don't close." He reassured, pulling her in for a warm brotherly hug.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

"Anything yet Claud?" Helena inquired as she entered Caturanga's office. She moved to stand behind the young genius.  
"I think I might be on to something." The girl reported excitedly.  
"So I traced the call back to a place called Univille, South Dakota. I've been trying to get a match on the number with the local government services there but no hit. It's a small town so I set up a program to sift through the occupants, their addresses, vehicle registration etc and do a little bit of mixing and matching. All the residents' data matched up except for one; 'Arthur Neilson', an IRS agent staying at one Leena's B&B. Funny thing though, is that there isn't an IRS office in Univille. The nearest one is in Featherhead. So why stay in Univille if you have to drive to Featherhead for work everyday? Why not just stay in Featherhead, right?"

"Unless you're _not_ an IRS agent so _don't_ need to go to Featherhead every day." Myka responded; she and Pete had entered the room just as Claudia was explaining her find to Helena.

"Exactly!" Claudia chimed.

"Okay, so who _is_ this guy?" Pete questioned.

"Check this out," Claudia continued, "this is an overhead thermograph of South Dakota badlands. Nothing unusual right?" They were all crowded around Claudia's laptop screen now and all shook their heads 'no'. "Now look at this." She changed the view and pointed to the screen, "It's an angled thermograph of the same area." Everyone gasped. Smack in the middle of the thermograph was a huge red glow, signaling the presence of some large, heated body.

"The Warehouse!"

All heads turned to look at Caturanga standing there with a boyishly excited look on his face.


	23. Chapter 23

_Previously:_

_"Check this out," Claudia continued, "this is an overhead thermograph of South Dakota badlands. Nothing unusual right?" They were all crowded around Claudia now and all shook their heads 'no'. "Now look at this. It's an angled thermograph of the same area." Everyone gasped. Smack in the middle of the thermograph was a huge red glow, signaling the presence of some large, heated body. _

_"The Warehouse!" _

_All heads turned to look at Caturanga standing there with a boyishly excited look on his face. _

"What warehouse?" Myka asked, breaking the silence.

"Well dear, rumour has it that there has always existed this warehouse, pretty much like the world's attic, where items that are regarded to be dangerous are collected and stored; both for the item's protection and the world's."

"Wait, what? So you're telling me that there are people going around the world collecting dangerous artifacts and bringing them back to this warehouse? Or is it like, when you discover one you give them a call and they tell you where to drop it off?" Pete asked.

"Warehouse agents, they're called. They go under aliases of various government protective services; CIA, Secret Service, ATF and so on. And yes, Peter, they go all over the world retrieving these artifacts and neutralizing them." Caturanga explained, "Nobody has ever been able to verify that they exist though. It's all been hearsay, at least, until now," he added excitedly.

"Ok so you're saying that possibly, this building Claudia has located, might be the warehouse?" Helena questioned, still a bit skeptical about the entire thing.

"Look at the evidence, Helena…. Some sort of artifact is affecting your friend. A mysterious person paid a lot of money to obtain the artifact at that auction. This person has made a point of trying to stay under the radar and the area he seemed to have disappeared into has a curious building that has been designed to remain undetectable. What does it all seem to be pointing to, dear? I would think that it's worth looking to."

The four teenagers looked towards one another before all turning their attention to Caturanga. Myka spoke up, "I think we should. Claudia, can you help us gain entry into this place?"

Claudia beamed at her friend, "Already on it, Mykes."

"Not to be a party pooper, but it's already pretty late. Mykes, you look like shit, everyone else looks pretty fried too. Maybe we should regroup in the morning?" Pete suggested.

Myka began to protest but Helena cut her short, "Pete's right, Myka. You need to rest."

Worried green eyes found reassuring brown, and Myka finally nodded, agreeing to call it a night.

They said their goodbyes to Caturanga and piled into Pete's car. As they dropped off Claudia, the young techie pledged to leave the decoder running and that she would let them know if anything came up.

At Helena's they showered and changed before meeting back up in the kitchen for a light supper.

Myka was on edge. She reached for Helena's hand before voicing her concerns.

"I can't sleep." She stated simply.

"What do you mean, love? You look so tired. I'm sure you'll be out like a light before your head hits that pillow." Helena responded, running her fingers through Myka's hair.

"No Helena. I mean, I can't afford to sleep. What if I fall asleep and everything changes again? We're too close now. That's why I asked Pete to stay over. I was hoping maybe you guys could take turns keeping me company?" Myka explained.

"Oh darling, I'm so sorry," Helena apologised, pulling Myka into her arms, "I know it's scary, but we're here with you. And you're right. Perhaps it's best if you don't sleep. We'll keep you awake, ok?" She turned to Pete, "Hey Pete, why don't you rest a bit, I'm not that sleepy as yet."

Pete yawned mid-nod and walked off to the spare bedroom.

"Come on darling, let's go up to my room." Helena encouraged, pulling Myka up from her chair.

"Would you like me to read to you, love?" Helena offered as they entered her bedroom.

"No offense, babe, but I think that might put us both to sleep."

"Good point," Helena agreed, "whatever shall we do then, darling?" she purred sultrily into Myka's ear, her tongue snaking out to run along it's length.

"Unhhh, Helena," Myka groaned, leaning in to the touch.

"Come here darling, I'm sure I can think of a few more… _pleasurable_..activities other than sleep that we can occupy ourselves with." Helena smirked confidently as she lowered Myka on to the bed, laying herself at the younger woman's side. Her hand found it's way to the hem of the girl's tshirt and she lifted it slowly, leaning forward to place light kisses on the exposed skin.

Myka's hand tangled in Helena's impossibly soft tresses, pulling the woman's head up to hers and capturing her lips in a searing kiss. Their tongues dueled for dominance before Myka finally relinquished all control to Helena, who was only too happy to take charge. She pulled away for a moment to rid them both of their t-shirts before settling back down on the toned body before her. Myka gasped at the feeling of Helena's breasts resting on hers. She was not sure of how intimate she and Helena were in this reality, but she wasn't complaining one bit. Another moan escaped her lips as Helena's circled around her nipple. She could feel the tension mounting between her legs as the older girl's very experienced tongue licked and sucked her already hard nipple. She pushed on Helena's head a little, encouraging her to go lower. She felt Helena's lips curl into a smile against her skin before releasing her nipple and kissing her way down further. As Helena reached the waistband of Myka's pants, she looked up into Myka's eyes, seeking permission. Myka nodded, raising her hips off the bed for Helena to ease her pants off. Dark eyes regarded the glistening mound before her head dipped to blow a light breath over it. Myka's body shuddered and her hips bucked.

"Now now, darling, patience _is _a virtue." Helena teased, leaning in to kiss Myka's inner thigh.

Myka tried to refocus Helena's mouth to where it was needed the most but the older girl pulled away laughing.

"Relax, my love. Let me take care of you." Helena whispered before leaning in to swipe her tongue along Myka's throbbing slit.

"Fuckkkk!" Myka cried out.

"With pleasure, darling," Helena smiled, inserting her tongue into Myka's heated core. Myka's eyes rolled back into her head. If this was how Helena intended to keep her awake all night, then she would offer no objection whatsoever.

The next morning, Helena awoke to find Myka nodding off in her arms. She hadn't bothered to wake Pete as she and Myka had made love until the wee hours of the morning. She had tried to stay awake but must have dozed off eventually.

"Myka! Myka darling wake up!" Helena shook the almost-asleep woman.

Myka jumped up with a start. "Oh my God! Did I fall asleep? Helena! You're here. I'm here. Where's Pete? What happened lastnight?" Myka rambled on. Helena cut her off with a swift kiss to the lips.

"It's okay baby, nothing changed. Everything is as it was when we left it lastnight."

Myka released the breath she was holding.

They met up with Pete in the kitchen. He was upset that they hadn't woken him up to take his shift but he was also grateful for the extra rest.

"Claudia called a while ago," he informed them, "She wasn't able to access the warehouse's security system but she was able to tap into their power grid. She's hoping that through that, we'll be able to gain entry into the warehouse."

"Aces! That girl is a genius! Come on, let's go." Helena exclaimed, heading for the door, Myka and Pete in tow.


End file.
